Something Wicked
by sireneris
Summary: Mai and the others are still recovering in the wake of the Carnival. However, they may have to fight again sooner than they hope, because strange things are happening in Fuuka City. [I'm not sure if anyone reads Mai-Hime fanfiction anymore, but I hope you enjoy it!]
1. Chapter 1: Back to School

Chapter One

Mai awoke in a panic. Scrambling in the dark, she groped at the covers instinctively, only relaxing slightly when she heard a groggy "Mai?" from beside her.

"Sorry, Mikoto," she said. "Bad dream." The room was dark, but Mai didn't mind the darkness. It was being alone that she feared. Once she realized Mikoto was in bed beside her, she calmed down and padded to the kitchen for a glass of water. It was the first week of classes of Mai's last year at Fuuka Academy, and although months had passed since the Carnival, she still couldn't shake the fear that it wasn't over.

From the hallway she could hear someone giggling into a cell phone and stumbling home. It was Nao, probably. Now that Akane had taken leave, Nao had a room to herself. Mai felt a sudden urge to talk to her brother then, but she couldn't remember what hour it was in America, and she knew better than to nag him several times a day.

She walked back to bed, and noticed Mikoto had already fallen back asleep. Everyone was trying to move on, she told herself. The Carnival was over, and everything was changed in its wake, but there was no choice but to move forward. Mai shook her head to clear it, steeled her nerves, and slid back into bed.

* * *

Natsuki woke up to her alarm buzzing and shut it off. She laid back in bed to allow herself five more minutes of rest before beginning another day at Fuuka Academy. Minutes turned to hours, and when she awoke again, she was startled to see she had missed the first three periods of classes.

 _No sense in going to school now,_ she thought, rolling out of bed. She pulled back the curtains that blocked most of the light from her room. It was a bright, sunny day in Fuuka, and she could see the sea glimmering enticingly in the distance. Not that Natsuki held any sort of sentimentality towards the sea.

She slipped on some athletic shorts and a t-shirt, and made herself breakfast, though it was late enough now to be eating lunch. Turning on her PC, she opened one of her favorite video games. While the updates were downloading, she browsed FuukaWN, a forum Yukino had put together for users to document strange happenings around Fuuka. These days it was mostly calm, except for Chie's weekly posts on relationship developments and Haruka's posts about petty school rule-breaking.

Today, though, something caught her eye. An anonymous user posted about how he or she was in bed last night, when suddenly their watch, resting on their nightstand, poofed out of existence. It was there, and then it was not there. The user updated the post that morning, claiming the watch had returned. Natsuki laughed a little at the bizarreness of the post.

These types of messages were humorous compared to the desperate tones of the posts last spring. Yukino had set up the forum as a means of communication when the media wouldn't report anything happening in Fuuka and students were confused and upset.

Natsuki closed the browser window and began her game.

* * *

Midori closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair. She stretched out her arms and yawned, then checked the clock. It was nearing six. School had ended hours ago, but that was when Midori's real work began. She had been tracking the seismic activity around Fuuka since the Carnival ended, and only today had she found anything slightly interesting. Though it didn't seem to be much, there was some sort of strange shifting occurring under the city.

She ought to get dinner, she thought, just then noticing her stomach grumbling. As she was leaving she passed Yukino and Haruka in the student council room, working avidly on some project. _At least some other people share my focus on getting projects done_ she thought. Still, Haruka's enthusiasm was cause for concern, generally.

"Yoko, want to join me for dinner?" asked Midori, leaning on the doorway to the nurse's office. There was no reply. _Of course she's already left by now, don't be silly,_ she thought. Midori walked down the drive that connected the Academy to the main road, glancing into the dark trees that lined the path. Although the Carnival was over, she was still vigilant. She didn't have her Child to help her now, after all.

Determining that she was safe for now, she walked quickly out to the main road, and stood at the bus stop waiting for a ride into town. Just as the bus was pulling up, Midori felt a strange jolt, yet she was certain the ground remained steady. _You've just got seismic activity on the mind,_ she told herself. Her vision blurred for a moment, and she began to panic. Something was messing with her sight and proprioception.

The bus doors opened and Midori looked up in confusion and fear as Shizuru Fujino stepped down from the bus. Shizuru shouldn't be here, Midori knew. Shizuru is in Kyoto. More concerning than that, though, was what Midori saw. She saw Shizuru as she was, plain and powerless, and also saw her holding her naginata, Kiyohime lurking behind her. Midori felt as if she was going to throw up.

"Sugiura-san, is something the matter?" asked Shizuru. However, Midori saw something pass over Shizuru as she laid a hand on Midori's shoulder. Midori could tell she felt it too. "What is-"

Shizuru's words were cut off as she and Midori, like the watch the night before, ceased being.


	2. Chapter 2: Something Amiss

Chapter 2: Something Amiss

A/N: so I got one review which means at least someone still reads these, which is great! Thanks for checking this story out :)

* * *

Midori looked around. Something was wrong. Her nausea subsided and her normal vision returned, but intrinsically, she knew something significant had changed. She met Shizuru's eyes, which were reflecting the same intense placidity as always.

"What's happened?" Shizuru asked, turning around to face the road. "The… the bus has disappeared!"

Midori had a more pressing question on her mind. "Shizuru-san, what are you doing here?" By any of her deductions, Shizuru's presence was just another anomaly, which meant the girl could not be trusted.

"Ah, why am I not in Kyoto, you ask?"

Midori nodded.

"That is because I have a meeting with Himeno-san, to discuss aspects of my father's endowment to the Academy. He would have come himself, but I offered. I would love to surprise Natsuki."

So she was here to meet with Fumi. That was reasonable, Midori supposed. But why had she seen Shizuru's Hime form when she was descending the bus? She decided to trust Shizuru for now, but to keep an eye out for anything strange. She supposed the most pressing issue now was the one that Shizuru had pointed out - the disappearance of the bus.

"It doesn't seem to be just the bus," said Midori. "All the other traffic is gone. There's no one walking on the path to the Academy."

"The traffic is strange," said Shizuru, "But it is late. Perhaps everyone has left the school?"

 _Reasonable and calm as always_ , thought Midori. _That was one of her best aspects as student council president._ Wait… "Haruka and Yukino were in the student council room, we could see if they're still there!" Midori said.

"We can check for Himeno-san as well, since we were scheduled to meet."

Midori nodded and they walked up the path back to the Academy. The halls were deserted. There was no one in the dojo as they passed, and even the teacher's room was empty. _Normally at least a couple teachers would be here working late,_ thought Midori.

At last they reached the student council room. It was quiet, and Shizuru slid the door open. Inside was Yukino, and Midori was relieved at the sight of another human being. But her relief turned to forbording as she saw the horrified look on Yukino's face. Yukino was kneeling on the ground beside a cardboard sign she had been working on. She turned to look at the newcomers, and her face turned pale as she saw Shizuru enter.

"Yukino, what's happened?" asked Midori gently. Yukino stood and walked over to Midori, as if in a trance, careful to keep distance between herself and Shizuru.

"Haruka's disappeared," she said. "Just… like last time." She looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. And suddenly it dawned on Midori. Shizuru had been the cause of Yukino's defeat in the Carnival. She had been preoccupied during that time, so the memory didn't come to her immediately.

"Calm down a bit, Yukino," said Midori, putting on a brave face. "It wasn't Shizuru." Midori wasn't certain this was true, but she wished it was. "Just about everyone seems to have disappeared. We came into the school looking for anyone, because everyone disappeared from the road." Midori almost laughed despite the situation, since she was trying to calm Yukino down by telling her the situation was grander than she thought. Yet, it seemed to work somehow, and Yukino seemed to steel herself to help them get out of this situation.

"It might be the other way around," said a voice, and the three girls turned around to see Fumi standing in the doorway, Yukariko pale and silent beside her. Fumi looked at them gravely, but with determination. "It could be that everyone else is right where they were before, and we are the ones who disappeared."

* * *

Natsuki sat at her desk, as she had for the past few hours, hands furiously punching keys on her keyboard as she progressed in the video game. She watched as the game autosaved and became suddenly suspicious. The forest setting seemed innocuous enough, but she knew from experience that her character was about to come across something dangerous.

Without warning, the monitor blinked strangely, the hues changing before settling back to normal. Natsuki felt a jolt and some nausea, and wondered if she was going to throw up. She was suddenly thankful for the autosave, and she paused the game as she walked towards her bathroom. She hadn't used the bathroom in hours, so she felt that now was as good of a time as any to take a break.

She felt her stomach grumble as well, and went to her kitchen next. Apparently the nausea was just caused by the flashing screen, as she felt fine now. The sun was setting, and she had wasted another day. Shs sat at her table, one foot resting on the edge of the chair, her chin resting on her knee. She had done nothing today, yet she was exhausted. Most days, she could barely gather the energy to go to school. She knew Mai would be by to chastise her soon enough.

A few minutes later there was a knock on her door, and she almost laughed at how predictable Mai's motherly behavior was, before feeling bad that she made Mai go out of her way for her all the time. _I don't make her,_ she thought defensively, _she does it herself. I would be fine on my own._

She answered the door, and stepped back in surprise. She blushed deep red, for she hadn't bothered to brush her hair that day, or to put on a bra. Mai was there, certainly, but there were also Midori and Shizuru, standing in her hallway.

"Ara, Natsuki, what's happened to you since I left?" Shizuru giggled. The other two maintained their serious faces.

"Something's wrong, get dressed," said Midori.

* * *

Nao sat in the lounge area of one of her favorite bars, talking to that night's prey. He was nervous, which amused her, but he was also clearly perverted, which did not. She sipped on her drink languidly, trying to decided where to proceed from here.

She felt suddenly sick to her stomach, and panicked. She excused herself to use the bathroom, locking the door behind her as she entered. She was trying to replay the moments of the night to herself, but her vision was blinking out of focus. Had the bastard drugged her? Had the wily spider been outmaneuvered? It was harder to protect herself now, without Julia.

Yet as she calmed down slightly, she realized that she felt better. Perhaps she'd imagined the sick feeling. She had been a bit paranoid lately, and for good reason, after the events of the Carnival. She decided that man was going to pay, even though he didn't drug her (probably) and strode out of the bathroom with confidence.

But Nao was suddenly struck with vertigo as she reentered the lounge. Everyone, from the patrons to the bartenders to the DJ, had disappeared. There was still music playing, but it was eerie without anyone around to listen to it besides her. She wondered first if everyone was playing a joke on her, and then next thought that she could take all the liquor while they were gone. But these perverse and bizarre fantasies were just coping mechanisms for the reality: something very, very bad was happening. The worst part, Nao thought, was that she didn't have the slightest clue what was happening, or why, or by whom.

Desperately, she ran out to the street. She was in the middle of downtown Fuuka, but the normally bustling road was abandoned. Parked cars were still there, but there was not a soul in sight. She saw a shadow move in a nearby alley and crept cautiously closer. The shadow moved too, as if to meet her, and Nao wondered why she didn't run while she had the chance. Nothing was normal, what if this was an orphan?

She called out to Julia in her mind, willing her Child to her side. A small cat emerged from the alley then, a trick of the light making its shadow larger than life. She breathed a sigh of relief that was cut short as she sensed a presence over her shoulder. She turned slowly to look and her knees gave out at the sight. Standing beside her was Julia, her dear Child, combat-ready and very, very _real._

 _What in the world was happening?_ thought Nao.


	3. Chapter 3: Regroup

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers, it's good to see people following the story. I update quickly at first because I like to have a few chapters ready to go before I publish, so there's a decent amount of story for readers to enjoy. And in reply to one of the reviews, there is definitely a mystery element to this story, I had a hard time deciding which genres to choose, but it's changed now!

Chapter 3: Regroup

Natsuki dressed quickly and followed the others back to the Academy. Mai was leading the way, her strides quick and deliberate as they ran in the direction of the dormitories. Midori explained how she was walking with Shizuru and Yukino on the way to Natsuki's when they met Mai outside of the restaurant where she worked part-time. They took Mai along to Natsuki's, but now Mai was desperate to find Mikoto.

They had also found Fumi and Yukariko, but they stayed back at the Academy and were looking for clues to what happened there. "So there's only Hime in this place," said Natsuki. She knew she was never the quickest at determining these mysteries, but she was definitely one of the most cynical Hime. She had determined the nefarious nature of the Hime games before Mai even came to Fuuka, after all, and she had first-hand experience with the emotionless power-quests of the First District and Searrs. The present situation gave her the same vibe, and from the looks of the others, they felt it too. _I suppose we're all cynical now,_ she realized.

Mikoto was found in much the same way as Natsuki, lounging around at home. The only difference was that Mikoto's stomach was growling loudly, as she relied on Mai to provide her with supper. "You need to train that thing," Natsuki said, nodding in Mikoto's direction.

Midori's cell rang, and she answered it, occasionally voicing her understanding. When she hung up, she turned to the others. "That was Fumi-san. She says that the Obsidian Palace doesn't look to be altered. She doubts whatever this is is coming from the Hime star or wherever our powers came from."

"But this is only affecting Hime, as far as we can tell," said Mai. She stood busy in the kitchen, fixing something for Mikoto.

There was a loud knock on the door, and Natsuki, on guard for anything dangerous, slowly opened it. She nearly closed the door again right away as she saw Nao standing on the other side. Only the look of pure relief on Nao's face gave her pause.

"I'm not alone," she breathed, uncharacteristically happy to see the others. "Something weird is happening."

"We know," said Midori, do you know anything?"

Nao looked at them, a hint of her cunning look returning to her face as she observed them. "Nothing you don't know," she said, "except maybe this." With a flick of her wrist, her fingers were sheathed in a clawed glove, demonstrating that her element had returned with absolutely certainty.

There was silence in the room as everyone realized the implications of what Nao had revealed. Slowly, Mai, then Midori, and then Mikoto summoned their elements. Natsuki, like Shizuru and Yukino, did not attempt this.

Natsuki sat back on the couch, suddenly lightheaded, and gripped by panic. The manifestation of their elements, and most likely their Childs as well, could only mean one thing. Someone, or something, wanted them to fight.

"Natsuki, are you not feeling well?" asked Shizuru, placing the back of her hand to Natsuki's forehead. Natsuki willed herself not to flinch, to avoid offending Shizuru, but memories of the Carnival, her foggy remembrance of her time with Shizuru in that secluded house, and her helplessness at her inability to call her Child all came to mind at Shizuru's touch. She also remembered Shizuru's power, enough to rival even Mai, and how Shizuru had used her powers indiscriminately to achieve her goals. _For my sake…_

"No, I'm sorry, I'm alright," said Natsuki, adjusting herself so she was farther away from Shizuru. Shizuru looked unconvinced, so Natsuki stood to further prove her point. She stumbled then, and realized she might actually be unwell, but realized that the same daze had come over the others.

When she felt settled, Natsuki looked around. Everything was as it had been, but there was something extraneous. Something now existed that had not been there before.

"Listen!" said Mikoto, pulling open the window. Clearly they could hear the sounds of a group of students as they walked across the campus beneath the window. They could hear voices in the hallway of the dorm. "Everyone's back!"

"Or we're back," said Midori.

The door swung open then to reveal Chie and Aoi, wide eyed in surprise at the guests in Mai and Mikoto's room. "How did you get here?" asked Aoi, looking a bit pale.

"We've been looking for you everywhere, since you didn't come back to the dorm after work. Even Mikoto was missing."

Natsuki wondered if anyone had missed her that evening, but felt certain they did not. She wouldn't have even realized anything had happened if they others hadn't come to get her. Something _had_ happened, right? She thought that it had but everything was so confusing.

"Something strange happened," Mai told the two newcomers. "It was like we were in a Fuuka city where no one else was but us." She looked at them with a desperate and sad expression, like she realized what she was saying was unbelievable but she wasn't sure how else to say it.

Chie and Aoi wore surprisingly understanding expressions. "I don't quite get it," said Aoi, "but this is something like what happened last year?"

"We're not sure ourselves," said Midori. "Say, Chie, could you look into anything that happened out of the ordinary this afternoon and evening?"

"Say no more," said Chie, saluting Midori. "I've got the pulse of this place in my pocket."

"Well, if you're all alright, I guess we should get to bed," said Aoi. "It's nearly midnight now."

The others nodded and said goodbye. Natsuki turned to Nao as soon as the door closed. "Can you-"

"Nope, already tried," said Nao. Apparently, her ability to summon her element had disappeared now that they were 'back'.

"Come on, Mikoto, let's get ready for bed," said Mai. "It's a school day tomorrow."

"You can't be serious," said Natsuki. "This has happened, and you're still going to go to school tomorrow?"

"Come now, Natsuki, you can't be neglecting your studies. You already took today off," said Shizuru.

"I agree with Shizuru and Mai," said Midori. Natsuki glared at her. "But I also think we should develop a plan. How about I look into what technology could have been used to do this," she suggested. "Yukino, you could help me as well." Yukino nodded, and Natsuki had forgotten she was with them until then.

"I'll help Chie with figuring out if anyone here noticed anything strange," said Mai. "Mikoto, too."

"I'll look into any First District or Searrs connections," said Natsuki, knowing that she trusted no one else with this task.

"I can help you," said Shizuru. Natsuki didn't answer. Shizuru took this as an affirmative response and smiled to herself. "Nao-san can too," she added, once she realized Nao wasn't going to suggest anything. Natsuki growled, but did not contest. She figured she could ditch them easily enough on her bike.

"Well, I'll check in with Yukariko and Fumi in the morning. I'm beat!" said Midori, and she led out the door to leave Mai and Mikoto in peace.


	4. Chapter 4: Searching in the Dark

A/N: Thank you (Gracias!) to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate the feedback, and hearing different people's opinions. I added a cover image that I made myself, hope you like it!

Chapter 4: Searching in the Dark

Mai awoke groggy and disoriented to her alarm going off. She'd gotten five, _maybe_ five and a half hours of sleep the night before, and would have given anything to go back to sleep, at least in better circumstances. As it was, she shuffled out of bed soundlessly, her chest gripped with fear at the thought of a repeat of the last year's events. Mai looked on as Mikoto snuggled deeper into the blankets. She knew that without the Obsidian Prince, Mikoto wouldn't lose herself as she had last time - she had Mai's love, after all, but Mai still felt a desire to protect Mikoto from what was coming. She was only a middle schooler, and like a younger sister to Mai.

 _From what was coming…_ Mai wondered why she thought like that as she puttered around the kitchen, fixing breakfast. _Because, what happened yesterday was not some one-off thing._ She had nothing to prove this statement, but she was certain it was the truth.

As Mai and Mikoto were heading out the door to go to class, Chie and Aoi caught up to them and fell into stride. "So, last night I was on FuukaWN and I noticed a post about how someone's watch had disappeared and reappeared, kind of like you described," she said.

"A watch?" asked Mikoto, and Chie nodded.

In the comments section, most people made fun of the poster, but another person said something similar happened to him. And that person's username belongs to Takeda.

"Natsuki-san's Takeda?" asked Aoi.

"She'd kill you if she heard that," said Mai. Chie laughed. They walked into the classroom, surprised to see Natsuki at her desk, her head down as she napped in her seat.

"Safe," said Aoi, now giggling too. The classes had changed for Mai's third year at Fuuka Academy, and now she shared a class with Chie, Natsuki, Aoi, and Takeda, though Tate and Reito were in a different section.

Mai and the others waved goodbye to Mikoto and headed to their seats, Mai's right in front of Natsuki. She shook her friend awake and explained the situation. To her surprise, Natsuki had seen the forum post and decided it was fake. A couple minutes before the bell, Takeda dashed into class, still sweating from morning training. His face lit up as he saw Natsuki. He slid into his seat behind her.

"Kuga-san, you came to class today!" he said, cheerfully. She turned around to face him with an expression that challenged him to say another word. The bags under her eyes from lack of sleep added to the effect, Mai thought.

"What disappeared?" she growled at him.

Takeda was confused, but not entirely put off, as Mai expected him to be. He mostly looked pleased she wasn't ignoring him. "P-pardon?" he asked.

"Your comment on the forum, what disappeared?" added Chie.

"You… know my username?" he asked, growing pale.

"KendoBoy333?" she said with a smirk. "Who else could that be, come on."

Takeda reddened. Natsuki looked merely impatient. "My… my kendo sword," he said.

"Your bamboo sword poofed out of existence and then came back?" asked Mai, making sure she understood him. Takeda nodded. "Are you certain you didn't misplace it?"

Takeda's expression turned serious. "My kendo sword is half of my life. I always know where it is."

"Right, sorry KendoBoy," giggled Mai.

"A watch… a kendo sword… why?" asked Natsuki. Midori sprinted into class then, just as the chime rang signalling first period.

"Alright, settle down everyone and open your Japanese textbooks," she said.

* * *

Shizuru woke up feeling strangely refreshed. It wasn't that she was not anxious about the events of the day before, but rather that she was glad to be back. Fuuka was familiar. Natsuki was here. The Academy was here. And although the disappearance was disconcerting and potentially dangerous, it brought back the adrenaline and emotions from the Carnival, where she acted intentionally, and had a clear focus.

 _There is no clear focus now,_ she reminded herself. _You have no idea what's going on._ But still, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was where she was supposed to be. In Kyoto she had been safe, certainly, but she was isolated, floating from one assignment to another. There was no emotional attachment binding her to her work, to her family even. In Fuuka she had the school, she had her peers, she had _Natsuki._

She walked downstairs from the room she had been staying in at the headmistress's quarters. Fumi seemed to be out, so Shizuru brewed herself some tea and sliced an apple for breakfast. Now that she was back, she couldn't be certain why she had left. A familial duty, that was certainly part of it, an act of contrition, that was part of it too. She didn't want to pretend that she wasn't the cause of much suffering during the Carnival.

Time away from Natsuki was definitely motivation to leave. This reason was much more complicated than the other two. She had left because of the face Natsuki had given her, the look of utter betrayal before Shizuru faced off with Yukino. She had left because Natsuki's feelings were obviously not the same as hers, and perhaps some time away would do both of them good. And she had left with the small but tantalizing hope that Natsuki would reach out to _her._

Obviously she hadn't.

Shizuru got dressed and decided to take a walk around the Academy's campus before meeting up with the others to work on their research. She wondered if Natsuki was glad she was back. _She probably doesn't care,_ thought Shizuru darkly. It was horrible and wonderful to be so drawn to one person as she was to Natsuki, but lately it had been more of a burden than a gift. She wished for a moment she could go back to the days of relaxing with Natsuki in the student council room.

 _Focus, Shizuru,_ she thought, but the problem at hand was beyond her comprehension. She had a feeling, like she rest of them probably did, that what happened the day before was one of two things. It was either a deception, a trick that someone played on them, or it was real. If it was real, it meant that either the Hime or the rest of Fuuka city entered a different realm, a different universe even, somehow. Shizuru decided to let Midori ponder that aspect of the problem.

Shizuru found Nao and Natsuki at lunch. "I think I've had enough school for the day," said Nao, changing her shoes. Natsuki nodded in agreement.

"Are we perhaps visiting the First District now?" asked Shizuru, holding her tongue regarding the pair's truancy.

"Can't. I've got a date," said Nao, and she brushed past them, her long nails clicking rapidly on her phone. Shizuru turned to Natsuki.

"Let's go," she said gruffly.

* * *

Natsuki hadn't brought her bike to school, and even if she had, she didn't want to share the tiny seat with Shizuru, so they took with bus to the northwest corner of Fuuka where the First District compound was. The bus took them over the winding cliff-face and Natsuki braced herself as she came to the location where she had been in two crashes - once as a child and once the year before. Shizuru seemed to notice her stiffen, but for once did not meet her discomfort with a joke.

They got off at the closest stop to the headquarters, but still had to cross the river to get to the First District. Natsuki was grateful to find a couple of rowboats tied up at the dock, but less pleased to find they were slimy with algae and nearly rotting. Apparently they had been abandoned long ago. Natsuki stepped into the boat and took the oars. Shizuru looked hesitant, but sat across from Natsuki without complaint. "Let's hope this holds up for us to get back," said Natsuki.

"So let's get this straight. Ourselves, Fumi-san and Sister, Mai, Mikoto, Nao-san, Yukino, and Midori," recited Shizuru. " There were nine of us accounted for last night. Oh, and Munakata," she added. "Sister found her once we left them."

"So ten," said Natsuki, the oars gently rippling the surface of the river as they crossed. "That leaves Akira, Akane, and Alyssa unaccounted for."

"Well, Alyssa might not be involved. She was a 'fake' Hime, after all, and if Searrs has a part in this she might be absent."

"Or have a bigger role to play," argued Natsuki. She remembered then that she used to like chatting with Shizuru in the student council room. Her friend was always insightful about problems like this. "So Akane and Akira, who are both outside of Fuuka, may of may not have been affected."

"We should contact them when we get back," suggested Shizuru.

* * *

Midori rifled through the remains of what was once Joseph Greer's lab. She thought of Miyu, and how she wouldn't mind having the andorid and her fire power on her side now. Midori opened file cabinets to rows and rows of red file folders. There was nothing much in the files that seemed relevant beyond the Carnival, but Greer's documentation, along with the Searrs' official files were too interesting for Midori to pass up. Without meaning to, Midori spent hours browsing through files on herself and the other 'real' Himes, their Childs, potential Most Important Persons, and the Artemis.

Hearing her stomach grumble, she finally realized how much time she had wasted down in the lab - time spent on the past, not the present. She needed to leave soon, and meet up with the others, so she put away the files she was looking at.

As she was putting away Shizuru's file, a strange green-colored file folder caught her eye at the bottom of the drawer. Picking it up, she read the title, scrawled on the tab with a quick hand: SOAR. It was a term she had never seen before in any of the research she had done on the Carnival or Searrs. Taking the file with her, she quickly walked up to surface level.


	5. Chapter 5: Higher Stakes

Chapter 5: Higher Stakes

Shizuru began feeling seasick the moment Natsuki pushed off from the opposite bank. The water wasn't choppy, but she'd spent very little time on boats, so she figured she must have a sensitivity to bobbing around in the water. But when she got to the other side, she realized she wasn't the only one affected. After tying up the boat, Natsuki turned away and emptied the contents of her stomach. Shizuru felt like doing the same, but momentarily quelled the feeling.

"Natsuki, are you unwell?" asked Shizuru.

Natsuki wiped off her mouth with the back of her sleeve and grunted. "It's nothing, let's go," she said.

Shizuru knew firsthand that it was not nothing, but obeyed Natsuki for now. She wondered if the two of them had been poisoned, or if the boat had contained something sinister. Perhaps there was some strange radiation or chemical emittance from the First District…

Shizuru followed as Natsuki trudged through mud and debris until she found the main building of the compound. Although only a summer had passed since Shizuru had razed the place, it was well on its way to becoming incorporated into the forest that surrounded it. Vines climbed over the walls, water pooled in the low spots, and birds chirped from the rafters.

 _If the birds are here then whatever is causing this illness is probably not coming from the building,_ reasoned Shizuru. She swallowed back another powerful wave of nausea.

Natsuki pushed forward, and Shizuru was certain that her friend was using the same amount of effort as she to maintain the illusion she was well. They walked through a puddle and Shizuru jumped as a frog's chirp echoed off the cave-like walls of the building. _You did this. This destruction is from you and your Child, for_ her _sake,_ realized Shizuru with alarm. She had never been back to the First District after that nightmarish night. She hadn't seen the fruits of her labor.

Shizuru wondered if Natsuki was thinking the same thing, but she didn't seem to be in the mood for conversation. Shizuru nearly bumped into Natsuki as the latter stopped short, ankle-deep in stagnant water. Shizuru followed Natsuki's gaze to the opposite wall, and was unable to hold back the nausea. She turned away and vomited, and willed Natsuki to turn away as well. Against the opposite wall, pushed by the small current, were human bones. Pearly white and luminescent, they were evidence of Shizuru's violence.

Shizuru winced as the nausea died down slightly, but was replaced by muscle aches. Her head was throbbing and felt foggy. She couldn't even try to explain herself or comfort Natsuki, the pain and lethargy were too intense. "I think we need to go back," she said, staggering back towards the boat.

"You feel it too, then?" asked Natsuki. "I wish you would have told me." She bit her lip as soon as she finished speaking.

"Yoko-san, perhaps she can help." Natsuki nodded in reply and they turned back towards Fuuka island. Shizuru wondered if Natsuki would be able to maneuver the boat back. She took one last look at the bones and followed her friend.

* * *

Akira looked at herself in the mirror and almost had to laugh. Compared to a few months ago, she was a whole different person. She was wearing a proper bra, and her breasts were evident underneath her sweater. She also changed her haircut, so it was all one length around her shoulders. She still didn't wear makeup, but the change was still dramatic. She finished washing her hands and left the bathroom.

 _Everything is so different from last year_ , she thought, as she walked out of the International High School and caught the green line bus. _Even my thoughts are in English now._ Her English had been poor when she left Japan four months earlier, but she spent the summer in intensive language courses at the University to prepare her for American high school. Her hard work had paid off, and now she was one of the top in her class.

Of course she had taught everything she learned to Takumi, who had been bored out of his mind at the University Hospital where he had been an inpatient for ten weeks. Now he had recovered enough to live in the school's dormitory with Akira, but he still had therapy most days so he couldn't attend school full time.

Akira got off at the Baker street stop and walked to the clinic where Takumi did his rehabilitation. She walked around the back of the building to the visitor entrance, but before she could open the door, someone grabbed her. She immediately called for her Child and made a motion to materialize her element, but it was no use. She was no longer a Hime. She was trained in fighting, but she was no match for the large man who grabbed her, and his partner, who she hadn't even noticed was present.

A blindfold was shoved over her eyes and she was pushed into a car. "Takumi!" she shouted, "Anyone, help!"

"Don't worry," said one of the men, "We've already picked up your Takumi from the clinic."

They had Takumi. Akira was sweating and shaking in panic. She had already dragged Takumi through the Carnival, and it almost killed him.

 _He's stronger now,_ she assured herself. _He's got a new heart._ Only then, listening to her thoughts did Akira realize the man had spoken to her in fluent Japanese.

* * *

"Hmm… SOAR, you said?" asked Yukino, adjusting her glasses.

Midori nodded. "Did Diana ever see or hear anything about that?" she asked.

Yukino shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Diana was mostly used to watch the Hime and for camouflage, I never watched Searrs or the First District. Your databases didn't come up with anything?"

"Nothing. I was thinking maybe-"

"Yukino, this is where you've been? Ah, good afternoon Sugiura-sensei," said Haruka, as she entered the classroom.

"Ah, Haruka, I was just um," Yukino looked at Midori desperately.

"Yukino was helping me with some research," she said. "Something that might be related to the events of last year."

Yukino looked on in shock at Midori's candidness. "There's no reason to keep it a secret," she said. "We're looking for information on something called SOAR."

"Don't go dragging Yukino into anything dangerous," Haruka said, sitting down beside her friend. Without asking permission, she opened the folder that had been lying on the desk.

"It's encrypted?" she asked, scanning the document.

"Looks that way," said Midori. "I'll have to copy it into my computer and run some software on it tonight."

"Well it looks like it came from Nishijin, in Kyoto, whatever it is," said Haruka. "Shizuru's dad owns half of that district, and that's his company's seal on the bottom."

Yukino and Midori looked at each other in trepidation. "Thanks for the clue, Haruka, that was really helpful," said Midori, her voice shaking.


	6. Chapter 6: Every Terrible Thing

A/N: It's probably going to take me a little more time now between chapters. I had the first five drafted before I started publishing, but now I'm writing each one after I post the last one. Hope you stay with the story!

Chapter 6: Every Terrible Thing

Midori leaned against Yoko's desk, flipping for the hundredth time through the SOAR file. She still had no leads on the encrypted words, besides Haruka's hint about the Fujino corporation. A shiver ran down her spine as Midori remembered the feeling she had when she first watched Shizuru step out of that bus. Right before their 'disappearance'...

She snapped out of her reverie as someone came to the nurse's office. Midori looked up to see Shizuru and Natsuki stumbled into the door. Natsuki looked pale and ready to collapse, and Shizuru, though composed as always, did not seem to be doing much better.

Natsuki vaulted herself onto one of the infirmary beds and sat at the edge with a relieved sigh. "We made it," she breathed.

Shizuru sat beside her in a chair, more gracefully than her friend. "Pardon our intrusion," she said quietly.

"Not at all," replied Yoko, standing to survey her new patients. "What seems to be the matter?"

"Nausea, and vomiting," said Natsuki. "Shizuru experienced the same."

"Also some vertigo, and abdominal pain," said Shizuru. "I also have quite the headache. It was hard for me to focus for a while, but now things seem to be clearing up."

Yoko crinkled her brow in concern, and reached forward to see if Natsuki had a fever. Natsuki flinched out of her grasp, and Yoko put her hand down, a flash of hurt crossing her face. Midori had never heard Natsuki talk about what happened to her at the end of the Carnival, and none of the other Hime seemed to want to share what they knew. The Carnival was a topic that was only brought up when it couldn't be avoided these days.

"Sorry," muttered Natsuki, apparently aware of her behavior. "I really do feel much better now, though."

"When did the symptoms start?" asked Yoko.

"Right when…" Natsuki trailed off, her eyes lighting up as she seemed to realize something.

"It was right when we got on a boat and crossed the river to the First District headquarters," said Shizuru. I think it might have to do with something surrounding the facility, because we felt better as we came back to the Academy."

Yoko nodded, listening to Shizuru's explanation, but Midori caught Natsuki's eye.

"I think it's the opposite," said Natuki quietly. Midori nodded in agreement. She didn't know why, she hadn't even experienced the illness, but Midori's gut told her she was right. Shizuru looked at her friend in confusion, but Natsuki gave Midori a look that seemed to say, ' _You explain, you're better at this sort of thing.'_

"Well, remember when we thought everyone had disappeared from Fuuka but it was really us who had disappeared? I think it's like that," said Midori. "Fuuka City is an island. A closed loop, if you will, or more accurately, an independent landmass. You started feeling sick when you left the island, and felt better when you returned. I think it wasn't going to the First District that caused this, it was leaving the island."

"But why would that happen? And how? You have no reason to think that," said Shizuru. Midori could understand her concern, the implications were grave.

"I don't know why," said Natsuki, "But I have a feeling, a strong one, that that's the real explanation. We'll get sick if we leave here. We're trapped."

Midori clutched the document tightly in her hand. She had meant to question Shizuru, but now did not seem to be the right time to reveal what she knew and what she wanted to know.

Midori noticed Yoko looking at her with concern. She had a feeling that Yoko had the same sense of foreboding as the rest of them: that something major, not unlike the Carnival, was about to be upon them.

* * *

Akane walked home from class as the sun was setting. She had stayed late for an afternoon meeting of the literature club. She liked the people and the club; it was calm and peaceful. The evening was peaceful too, but Akane couldn't help but be on edge. She was always on edge now.

She had started at a new school a few weeks ago, back in her hometown. Kazuya had transferred to this school as well, and while Akane lived with her parents, he lived in the dorms. She still saw him often, and they always ate lunch together. Akane missed her friends in Fuuka, but she had no desire to return to that place.

She knew the Carnival was over, and that there was no reason for the Hime to ever exist again, but she didn't want to go back to Fuuka. Bad things happened in that place. There were too many bad memories.

The sun dipped below the horizon and a calm azure covered the sky. Akane's phone vibrated. She picked it up without a glance. "Kazu-kun!" she said.

"Guess again," said a voice on the other end. It was a silky voice that sent a shiver down Akane's spine.

"What have you been up to, Akane-chan?" asked the voice, teasingly. "Something's been happening in Fuuka."

"Nao-san..." said Akane, her voice nearly a whisper.

* * *

Mai caught up to Yukino right after her last class let out. She was concerned when Natsuki never returned to class after the morning break, but she hadn't been able to leave under Midori's watchful eyes. Even if she had left, she wouldn't know where to look. Natsuki could have gone anywhere.

Mai decided that it would be more productive to check in with the others than to track down her elusive classmate.

"Yukino, have you seen Natsuki?" she asked, trying to ease into the conversation. Yukino turned around and Mai could see that her hands were shaking.

Without a word, she turned back around and continued walking down the corridor. Mai followed Yukino cautiously at first, and then more closely as she realized that Yukino was not going to ask her to stop. She followed her downstairs to a classroom with a dusty computer in the back. Still silent, Yukino sat down in the seat and turned on the machine.

"Yukino, um, you have found something, haven't you?"

"I think so." Her response was barely a whisper.

"Look, uh," Mai paused, twirling her hair. "It will be alright. I mean, something's obviously happening, but we are a _team_ now. We know we can beat the odds together, so we won't have to suffer like last time."

Yukino nodded to show she was listening as she logged in.

Mai tried to think of more comforting words, but she drew a blank. She could not guarantee that no one would suffer. She couldn't know whether or not the Hime would work together this time. The lies made her feel dirty, so like Yukino, she remained silent.

She thought of Takumi, and all the lies she'd told herself over the years to justify his condition and her obligations. She thought of every terrible thing she'd ever done and every person she'd hurt with her actions and inactions. Well, she probably barely scratched the surface, she realized.

Finally, Yukino pulled up whatever it was she had found. It was a file, titled 'SOAR' shown on some kind of software Mai was unfamiliar with.

"Sugiura-sensei found this in Joseph Greer's lab," she said.

"Searrs," Mai practically hissed.

"It was encrypted, so I copied it into this program and it's been running all day trying to crack the code. I programmed it to text me when it had completed the decryption, and here we are."

Mai scanned the document. Most of it made no sense to her. Unfamiliar words such as "hemispheric semi-permeable membrane" and "artificial spacetime displacement" were in nearly every sentence, and although Mai could read the document, she couldn't make any sense of it.

"We need to get this to Midori," she told Yukino.

Yukino nodded in agreement. "Spacetime Orientation Augmented Realignment…" she muttered, reading the subtitle.

She hit print, and they picked up the document before walking back upstairs. "Sugiura-sensei usually visits with Sagisawa-sensei after school," said Yukino.

Mai followed her to the nurse's office. Her feet seemed to drag. Yukino had been shaking in fear when Mai found her. She was afraid of what was going to happen to them. Meanwhile, Mai was going about her daily life, attending her classes, laughing with her friends. She promised to buckle down and put serious work into researching what was happening from then on.

Mai was surprised to find Natsuki and Shizuru in the nurse's office. As they heard what happened to Natsuki and Shizuru, Mai watched Yukino pale, and she also felt concern. They were implying she couldn't leave Fuuka, at least not without suffering.

"Enough about us, what have you got?" asked Natsuki.

Yukino handed the printout to Midori, whose eyes widened. "Yukino, you're a godsend," she muttered, poring over the page. "It'll take me some time to figure this out, I'll be back!" she said.

Natsuki looked at Mai for some explanation, but Mai simply shrugged. She hadn't been able to make sense of the document at all.

Shizuru stood up, then staggered a bit. "Ara, perhaps it hasn't passed," she said, returning to her seat. Yoko stood up to check on Shizuru but then turned to Mai as Mai began to sway as well.

"It's happening again," said Mai through gritted teeth as the world went in and out of focus.


	7. Chapter 7: Control

Chapter 7: Control

Shizuru's eyes widened and she immediately turned to Natsuki as the room began to warp. Natsuki had dug her fingers into the mattress of the infirmary bed, bracing herself as they shifted. When Shizuru turned back around, the room had settled, but Yoko was gone.

"So it really is just Hime that disappear," said Mai. "We better catch up to Midori."

Shizuru agreed with Mai, but couldn't see this happening easily. "Sugiura-san disappears to do her work, we likely won't be able to find her."

"Well she must have realized it's happened again, so she should come find us soon enough," suggested Natsuki.

In lieu of finding Midori, they decided to find Mikoto, and Nao if she was around. Shizuru noted that Mai seemed to feel a motherly obligation to take care of the younger girls. "So what did you find at the First District?" asked Mai as they walked to the dormitories.

Shizuru turned away, letting Natsuki field this question, but she flinched slightly as she caught Yukino's eye. The younger girl turned away once their eyes met, but Shizuru felt distinctly uncomfortable by the gaze. Yukino's presence, the discussion about the First District, it was all unpleasant and unwelcome to Shizuru. She turned back to Natsuki, watching the way her shoulders moved as she walked ahead. This calmed her down some.

"There wasn't much. Kiyohime did a number on the place," said Natsuki to Mai. She said those words, but Shizuru knew the implication, and she had a feeling the others did too: _Shizuru murdered people there._ Shizuru felt tainted by that thought. _As you should,_ a small voice in her head said. _You killed people. You made Natsuki horrified at what you had become. You mustn't lose control this time._

"Mai!" called Mikoto, running out from the dining hall. It was a welcome distraction for Shizuru. "Everyone's gone again. I was eating with everyone and then I was eating by myself!" Mikoto, eyes wide, flung herself against Mai.

"Alright, alright, calm down," said Mai, and Mikoto seemed to relax just from Mai's presence.

"Um, everyone, there's something beyond the treeline," said Yukino, pointing into the distance, her voice small and frightened. Shizuru followed her gaze and saw what appeared to be an Orphan in the trees.

Yukino summoned Diana and used her Child to get a closer look at the creature. From the panels Diana used to show Yukino what was happening, Shizuru and the others could see something that clearly resembled an Orphan, even though that should have been impossible. Shizuru felt her heart rate quicken as she watched Natsuki's face drain of blood.

"No," said Natsuki quietly. Her normal stoicism was gone and replaced with sadness that hedged on panic. It put Shizuru on edge more than the Orphan itself.

Mai also was not reacting well. Like Natsuki, she looked afraid and weary, but there was still a determined glint in her eyes. "For right now, it's leaving us alone, and there's no one else here for it to hurt. But if it does approach us, we can deal with it," she said, rings of fire circling her wrists as she materialized her element.

Shizuru took a deep breath. She called to Kiyohime in her mind. The Child was there, ready to manifest at her command. She felt the lust of power, and the manic rush of her element in her hands. She felt like a god, ready to deal out judgement as she saw fit. She kept Kiyohime from manifesting for now, knowing she wouldn't be fully in control anymore. And control was important, moreso now than ever.

* * *

Akira couldn't run. If they did have Takumi, she needed to rescue him before getting out. She was not going to abandon him, especially after she promised Mai that he would be in her care. The drive seemed to take hours, though Akira was blindfolded so she couldn't be sure how much time had passed.

She was trying to be quiet and still, in order to dupe her captors into thinking she wouldn't put up a fight. That would give her the slight chance of catching them off guard and taking off. She was certain she could not win in combat with these men, but she was likely quicker than them.

Finally, the car slowed and came to a stop. One of the men opened the backseat door, roughly grabbed her, and began pushing her in the direction he wanted her to walk. Akira realized she was either in a garage or the evening had turned to night, for she no longer felt the warmth of the sun on her shoulders. Not that that told her much about where she was….

She made several turns, and seemed to be moving through a labyrinth of hallways. She could hear doors being opened and closed, distant beeping, and gruff voices speaking quickly. Her English was not good enough for her to pick up more than a couple words they said, and nothing she understood seemed relevant. The panic which had temporarily subsided at the change of scenery was returning its heavy weight to her gut.

After several minutes, she was led into a room and seated in a chair. She could tell it was a large room because the echoing of the voices changed from how it had sounded in the hallways. The chair was not uncomfortable, but the handcuffs that bound her to the arms of the chair were. Immediately she began sliding her arms back and forth, trying to figure out what her range of motion was. She had no idea if someone was closely watching her or not.

After a moment, there was a hum, and a swishing noise. Someone pulled the blindfold off of Akira, and she took in her surroundings. She was seated at a conference room table. The swishing noise must have been the blinds, because they were drawn to provide enough darkness for what looked like an elaborate holograph on the table before her. It was emitting a low humming noise.

Around the table were seated three men and two women, all in suits, and to Akira's immediate relief (and surprise), Takumi, alive and unharmed. Standing throughout the perimeter of the room were armed guards. Whatever was happening here was secret, and sensitive.

* * *

Natsuki began to panic as the Orphan came closer. _Duran. Duran! DURAN!_ She called and called, but the wolf was as elusive as he had been during the Carnival, after she had talked to John Smith.

The beast was yellow and black, and seemed to resemble a sort of robotic tiger, except it was about four times the size of a real tiger. Its huge paws were equipped with sword-like claws, and it bared its long, sharp teeth in domination. _It can't show domination,_ Natsuki assured herself. _It can't comprehend such things._

 _Duran! DURAN!_ Again and again she called, but there was nothing in reply. Duran had abandoned her. She couldn't even manifest her element. Cursing at her uselessness, Natsuki sized the creature up to see if she could do any damage as she was.

Faster than she could prepare herself, the Orphan-like creature pounced in her direction, covering the large space between them in a single leap. Natsuki dove out of the way, scraping her arm and knee along the hard pavement. The animal had kicked up a large cloud of dust and Natsuki could hear the others shouting and trying to react.

Before Natsuki could even right herself, Kagutsuchi was there. Before she could even take in Kagutsuchi's immense form, Kiyohime was beside him. Fire and water were battling together against the enemy. _If only ice could help out._ Clicking her tongue, she stood up and dusted herself off.

To Natsuki's surprise, Yukino was beside her. Mai spared them a glance as Kiyohime was wrenching at the limbs of the Orphan-thing. "Try to find the others, and meet back in the student council room!" she called.

Yukino nodded pulled Natsuki along away from the fight. "Tsk," she cursed again.

"We need to find the others," said Yukino, striding forcefully towards the headmistress's mansion.

Natsuki laughed a little, despite herself, but it sounded hollow. "It's come to this then," she said. "Yukino is calm and composed, and I'm useless."

"I'm _not_ calm," said Yukino. "And we were both useless in that fight. It's better that we help this way."

Natsuki gave Yukino another moment of consideration as she followed her across campus. Yukino had a Child that was very different from the others, suited for reconnaissance, not battling. It must have been difficult to not feel hopeless when your Child was so vulnerable.

 _At least she still has a Child,_ said a voice in Natsuki's head.

"Fumi-san," said Natsuki, looking up the path ahead of them. Scythe wielded, Fumi was battling was looked like twin hyena-type Orphans. Snarling and pouncing, they seemed even more terrifying than the tiger, despite their smaller size.

 _Duran, Duran! Duran!_ Still nothing. _This isn't fair,_ she thought. _The most-important person thing shouldn't even matter now, and still nothing._ One of the hyena creatures bared its teeth in their direction. "Yukino," said Natsuki, in a steady voice that somehow still betrayed her terror, "We need to get out of here."


	8. Chapter 8: Higher Stakes

Chapter 8: Higher Stakes

Shizuru gasped as the Tiger-Orphan launched another attack. Despite the sustained efforts of Kiyohime and Kagusuchi, the Tiger was still barely damaged.

"Something is wrong!" shouted Mai to Shizuru, over the din of the metallic creatures clashing. "Our attack should be more effective."

 _Well of course all is not right,_ Shizuru thought. _We are somewhere that is not the same Fuuka we are used to, we again have Hime powers, and we have no answers to why any of this is happening. But of course,_ she thought, a bit sardonically, _it is most strange that we stand side by side as comrades in battle._

"We must continue," said Shizuru placidly. "We both have things we must protect." Shizuru was grateful that Mai and Mikoto stood beside her. Each Hime's child had different strengths and weaknesses, so they couldn't all be compared side by side, but in terms of mass and destructive power, Kiyohime, Miroku, and Kagutsuchi topped the list. _So why wasn't this working?_

Shizuru was becoming frustrated, and despite her attempts to temper herself, she was losing to the overwhelming desire to truly unleash Kiyohime on this beast. But by unleashing her Child, Shizuru would also be unleashing the darkest part of herself, and for her own sake and for Natsuki's, that could not happen again.

"Shizuru!"

A voice called for her that caused adrenaline to pump through Shizuru's heart. It was a voice she knew without looking at the speaker. Natsuki was calling for her, desperately calling for her.

She turned to see Natsuki closely following Yukino as both of them ran back towards Mai and Shizuru. Close behind the two of them was a hyena-like Orphan with dripping fangs and murderous eyes. _So she cannot summon Duran, I see,_ realized Shizuru. Yukino also was without her Child, for Diana was very weak in combat.

"Shizuru!" called another voice, this one belonging to Mai. Her warning was too late as a huge claw from the Tiger slashed down across Shizuru's shoulder. She was so shocked by the unexpected attack that she didn't even register the pain at first, just the wide-eyed horrified looks on Yukino and Natsuki's faces. Mai screamed in shock at Shizuru's injury.

 _Natsuki,_ thought Shizuru, pain searing through her arm now, as she began to feel blood pooling there. The hyena was pouncing. She used all her might to will Kiyohime to protect Natsuki, and her vision grew bleary as she concentrated. Staggering, she closed her eyes against the vertigo and was shocked by the abrupt end to the terror and noise that had been surrounding her.

"Shizuru!" Natsuki called desperately, but her tone was one of concern, rather than desperation. Shizuru opened her eyes hesitantly to see that the Tiger and hyenas were gone. The sun was setting over Fuuka Academy, so there were no students milling about, but they were definitely back from wherever they had disappeared to.

"Shizuru, let's get back to Sagisawa-san's office," said Mai, running over to her but stumbling. _Why is she concerned over what happens to me?_ Shizuru wondered, but her thoughts were growing foggy. _It must be fall, it's grown so cold._

* * *

Midori had felt the sensation of 'disappearing' and tried to write down all of her observations of what had happened. She was searching through internet forums for anyone who had experienced something similar, but didn't find much outside of Yukino's private Fuuka forum.

She vaguely realized she should try to find the others, but the was so engrossed in what she was researching, she decided to keep at it. Last time, nothing much happened during the disappearance, anyways. She sucked on the straw of her soda as she pored over Yukino's decrypted version of the strange SOAR document.

There were several conclusions she could draw from the document after reading it a few times, looking up some unfamiliar terms, and consulting with a few of her old colleagues, and nearly all of them made her skin crawl uncomfortably.

First, it seemed that the disappearances took the Himes into a sort of pocket universe. Natsuki's point about Fuuka being an island seemed to be significant, because Midori had a feeling that the boundaries of the dimension they were transferred to ended at the banks of the island. Though it was clear what would happen if this boundary was breached in the 'real' world, it was unclear what would happen if any of them tried to leave now.

Secondly, it seemed that the boundary of this dimension, which Midori pictured as an invisible dome over the island, was coated with billions of tiny nano-particles which allowed for the manifestation of the Hime powers. The particles, it seemed, would rearrange themselves to form the Himes' Childs and elements when they were called upon by a strange summoning force. Midori didn't understand the section about how this mechanism worked exactly, but she made a note to check on it when she got the chance, namely when she could again communicate with people outside of this closed dimension.

Midori sat back as she thought about the nano-particles. This finding implied that the Hime had never lost their abilities to manifest their elements and Childs, they just didn't have the substrate. The necessary amounts of nano-particles just didn't exist in everyday life. Still, Midori had no idea how whoever was behind this was able to manifest so much of the substrate that Hime needed.

The third important thing that Midori found was that Haruka's input was correct: the Fujino Corporation was at least partially behind whatever this phenomenon was. The whole document suggested a collaboration between Fujino Corp. and Iwasaka Corp., which, from what Midori could tell, was just another name for the Searrs group.

Midori still had dozens of questions, many of which only spurred more questions. Why were they brought to this dimension? Who was actually behind this and what was their motivation? Their intentions? What was the duration of the time they spent in this dimension? Was there a limit? She couldn't imagine they'd be trapped here indefinitely, but she had no experience with something like this.

Midori stood up to stretch out before delving into some of the equations featured in the document. She stiffened, arms still over her head, as she heard a piercing scream. She sprinted out of the library, only taking the time to lock the door of the study room she was using. _It sounded like Mai._

As soon as she ran down the library steps, Midori's proprioception became warped and she collapsed onto the path, her coordination failing her. She closed her eyes against the rushing feeling that was entirely unpleasant and winced as she could feel the broken skin on her joints. When she got up, she knew intrinsically she was back to the 'real' Fuuka. Ignoring her bleeding knees and elbows, Midori continued to run in the direction of the scream.

"Mai! Yukino!" she called, out of breath. "Natsuki!"

She finally found them on the path that lead to the school building, their eyes wide in horror. Yukino had her hands on her thighs, hunched over and panting as if she had been running a marathon. Mai was sitting back on the ground, equally exhausted, with Mikoto beside her. Natsuki was grabbing onto Shizuru, who looked pale and close to collapsing. As Midori ran closer, she realized the girl had a huge bloody gash across her scapula and part of her arm.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, rushing over to support Shizuru from the other side.

"Orphans, or something like them," grunted Natsuki.

* * *

Akira bit her lip hard enough to taste the metallic trickle of blood drip down around her tongue. She could feel Takumi's gaze on her, not to mention the gazes of the agents in the room, but she could not bear to meet any of them. She kept her eyes on the now-dormant hologram, her portal to the horrors now wracking the Hime.

"Rentaro, the lights," said the man that Akira presumed was the leader. As the lights turned on again and the blinds were opened, Akira noted that the leader was younger than she would expect, and rather modest in dress. He caught her eye and she shifted her focus back to the hologram, which was now barely visible in the glow of the setting sun.

"Akira-Hime, did you enjoy our show?" he asked. He didn't say it as if he was taunting her, it was more like he seriously expected her to be impressed. Akira noted the slight Kansai dialect creeping into his words, as well as his extremely polite nature. Perhaps she was in Kyoto?

"I think I might be sick," said Takumi, his eyes also studying the hologram, as if it might shed some light about what was happening now that the 'show' was over.

"I for one thought it worked extremely well," said one of the other men sitting around the table. "Maybe a little too well, since we had to end it early."

"Yes," agreed the leader. "Kuga-san and Kikukawa-san make things a bit more difficult, but we'll just have to control the situation a little better."

"Why am I here?" asked Akira, suddenly finding her fear and disgust replaced with fury. She looked up to the man she thought was the leader, eyes defiant.

He looked down at her with a sympathetic expression, and it was that kindness that put Akira on edge. "Well, think of yourself as a consultant. Someone with firsthand Hime experience who can help us."

"And Takumi? Why is he here?" she demanded. "He needs medical care!"

"No worries," the leader assured her. "We have top-level physicians in our facility to see to him. We need Takumi here to give you and Mai some motivation."

He said this as if he were offering her a treat, but Akira knew what he truly meant.


	9. Chapter 9: Wrestling Demons

Chapter 9: Wrestling Demons

Mai awoke slowly, a welcome change from her usual nightmare-plagued sleep. _It isn't much relief when you wake up to a nightmare reality, though._ She stuck fervently to her normal routine: getting breakfast ready, getting dressed, and then packing lunch for herself and Mikoto.

It had been three days since the last 'episode', and Mai was constantly on edge, in anticipation of fighting another impossible strong Orphan. _You need to hold it together,_ she chastised herself.

Natsuki was avoiding them, and Mai suspected the reason was either that she felt guilty over Shizuru's injury, or that she was onto something in her 'research' but didn't yet want to share. Nao was also suspiciously absent. Shizuru was resting at Fumi's mansion. While her healing ability was augmented because of her Hime powers, the cut was deep and painful and so Yoko insisted she remain in bed for a few days.

Mikoto was quieter than usual, and Mai had a feeling she was reliving dark memories from the Carnival. Midori continued her avid research, working hard to unravel the secrets behind the strange occurrences. Mai volunteered to help her, but Midori insisted that Mai was around to support the other girls.

Mai walked to class, wondering how she could support everyone when they were avoiding her, and she had no more answers to the important questions than they did. Mai passed the spot where Nagi had announced the Carnival the year before. It was a horrible memory that had a strange bittersweet feeling to it, and Mai bit her lip as she realized that was the night they'd all gone to karaoke.

It had been the night that Midori gathered them all to work together to defeat the Orphans, but then Nagi had pitted them against each other. And turned they had - rapidly and dramatically. They had tried to _kill_ one another, and succeeded in some cases. _Why would Midori ever trust me to bring everyone together?_ Mai wondered. _I turned on all of them back then. I_ won _the Carnival._

Mai settled in her seat in the classroom, staring out the window. Chie and Aoi were chatting quietly beside her, and Takeda was asking her where Natsuki had gotten to, but Mai ignored them all, looking out the window instead. The Hime didn't even have a sense of 'togetherness' now like they had then. Mai realized that the Himes involved had not even been all together yet. She had still not seen Shiho except in passing this year.

At lunch, Mai caught up to Midori who was walking to the library. "Mai!" She said it in a cheerful tone, but her eyes were weary. Mai had a feeling she hadn't had a proper meal or night of sleep in some time.

"Midori, I need to ask you to do something," she said. Midori paused on the library steps and turned to Mai, giving Mai her full attention. "You told me to watch over everyone, but I can't do that when everyone is off trying to understand what's going on - or denying it. Our combined efforts, the only thing that saved us during the Carnival, are nonexistent now."

Midori nodded slowly, and seemed to understand where Mai was going with this. Mai appreciated her sharp mind. "We need to get everyone together," she said.

Mai nodded. "We need to get everyone together physically. We need to tell them everything we've figured out. We need to get everyone on board with working together. And we need a plan for next time… _it_ happens." Mai counted off on her fingers each of the four things she wanted.

"I was thinking something similar," said Midori. "I've got at least a cursory understanding of what's going on, and I wanted to share it with the others soon. Tonight?"

Mai nodded. "I'll let the girls who will come on their own know… and you can I can split up retrieving the more… reluctant Hime."

* * *

Nao walked through tall grass, wishing that her element could be used so that she could cut herself a path. She could hear that she was getting closer to the sea, but couldn't yet see it.

 _And Natsuki and Mai think I don't do anything to help,_ she thought, a little sardonically. Natsuki and Shizuru had breached the west border of Fuuka, and crossed the river, and so Nao wanted to see what would happen if she tried the north border, along the Sea of Japan.

"Nao-san, where are we going?" asked her 'date', trudging heavily behind her.

"I told you, we're having a picnic by the sea." Nao supposed she couldn't blame him - they had walked almost three miles since they got off the bus. She had hoped he liked her enough to come all this way, and it seemed that he would see it through.

She listened to his panting behind him as they stepped over mud pits and avoided snakes and field mice. The walking path would have been an extra two miles, and Nao was nothing if not efficient. Finally, she walked through a small stand of trees and saw the sea, shining in the afternoon sun.

"It is… well… romantic," said the boy. Nao thought his name was Yuuto, but she couldn't be certain.

"What are we talking, now, like a few meters away, or actually in the water?" Nao wondered.

"Pardon?" said the boy, sipping one of the juices he had lugged in his backpack.

"Nothing," said Nao, cracking open her own juice. "I'm sweating, let's go down to the water."

She led him closer, always several strides in front of him. "I never thought you'd ask me to do something with you, Nao-san," he said, obviously elated to even be invited.

 _I needed a control subject,_ she thought. _That's right, Hime's are strange variables, and the regular people are the control group._

Nao kicked off her shoes and socks, and Yuuto did the same. Tentatively, she stuck a toe into the water. She felt no changes. _Perhaps the tide is still somewhat high._ She had no idea what actually constituted 'the border' when an island dipped into the ocean. She walked further. There was still nothing. She saw a couple people walking to their left, even deeper in the water. She grew frustrated that she endured Yuuto's company for so long when there were perfectly good control subjects right here.

Still further she walked, but stopped as she was hit with a wave of powerful nausea. _So it was true, then._ She didn't need to test how badly it got, it was already nearly unbearable. She backed up a few steps until the feeling quelled somewhat.

Yuuto was turned away. Nao threw the ribbon from her collar as far out to sea as she could. "Shit!" she called. Yuuto turned back to her. "What's happened?" he asked.

"I stepped on something, and my foot hurts, but my ribbon's floating away."

Pleased at the chance to be useful, Yuuto walked into the water until it was knee-deep, much farther than Nao had, and came back looking healthy as ever. "Hmm.. um, thank you," she said. "Shall we eat?"

Nao only nibbled on her sandwich as she realized she was trapped. She couldn't leave the island without suffering a horrible sickness, and that meant she couldn't escape the 'disappearances'. Last time, she had been stuck battling some sort of lizard robot that reminded her of an Orphan, and she had suffered a rather bad burn from its acidic saliva.

"We better head back," said Yuuto. "School's getting out soon, and I don't want to miss practice." Nao nodded and walked back towards the bus stop, this time following the boy. It was annoying her how little he annoyed her. He was nearly… tolerable. _I'm going soft,_ she thought.

"Is your foot alright?" he asked her. Nao had to remember what he was talking about. "Mhm," she mumbled, a bit guilty, "It was only a seashell or something."

* * *

"Shizuru!" she had called, and then _slash,_ the Orphan suck its claws into Shizuru. _How many times has Shizuru saved you now?_ Natsuki shook her head to clear it of these disturbing thoughts. _Shizuru is fine, she just needs a couple days to heal._

Natsuki was angry at her own uselessness. She couldn't summon Duran, and she couldn't take care of the hyena-Orphan without her Child. She hadn't been able to avoid being a burden to Shizuru. Next time, it could be Mai she burdened, or Midori. She refused.

Natsuki turned her bike down a narrow alley and parked it out of sight behind a dumpster. It was raining a bit, but Natsuki was covered in her riding suit. She cared little about her hair getting wet. Natsuki walked past rows of shipping containers, counting off until she found aisle 6B.

"Ahh, Kuga-san, you've made it." Natsuki turned around to get a good look at the man who managed to sneak up behind her. It proved impossible, as he was wearing a long, dark jacket and a brimmed hat, hiding most of his features.

Without a word, she slipped an envelope into his hands. "Ah, straight to business, I like that," he said. It was raining harder now. He slipped a key into the padlock on the door of one of the shipping crates, and opened it to reveal a small armoury.

They walked inside and he clicked a light on, closing the door behind him. He pored over his inventory. "Might I suggest these?" he asked her, showing her a pair of small handguns. "Do you have any revolvers?" she asked, desperate to find something that felt close to her element.

"What are you, a cowgirl?" he joked, but his smile faded upon seeing her serious expression. "I don't have much selection, but I have this kind," he said, showing her a small snub-nosed gun. She picked it up, holding it in her right hand, then her left. "Please, try it out," he said, handing her a couple of bullets. The rain pelted on the metal of the shipping crate, drowning out the noise of Natsuki testing the gun. "I'll take two, and plenty of ammo."

The man stopped Natsuki as she was going to leave with her procurements. He looked rather uncomfortable. "Look, normally I would be happy to do business like this, but I really hate to rip people off. The money you gave me is much too much for this, even on the black market."

"I have no need for it, please do not worry," she said curtly. She tried to move past him, but her eyes were redirected to a glint on one of the shelves near the entrance. "You know what, I could do with a knife or two," she said.

Natsuki walked back to where she had parked her bike, gray clouds now totally obscuring the late afternoon sunset. It would be a pain to ride her bike in this downpour. She felt someone behind her, and glanced to see if it was the man she had met with. _It couldn't be,_ she realized. _You just watched him get into his car._

The hairs on her arms stood up. _Perhaps I am about to be struck by lightning. So be it._

But no lightning struck. Natsuki was soaked now. The rain had permeated her riding suit, and her hair was plastered against her head. She shivered.

Natsuki was sure there was a third party tailing her now. If she could just make it to her bike…. She walked more quickly, not daring to turn around, her right hand on one of her new purchases. She clicked the safety off.

Finally, she got to the alley she'd left her bike in. A dim light was flickering at the far end, beyond the dumpster. Cautiously she approached her bike, to find her suspicions were correct. Her tail had somehow gotten back there before she had. There was a man standing just past her bike, clothed in a dark suit and sunglasses, despite the rain. He was holding a strange gun in his hand, pointed straight at Natsuki.

No… she was wrong, she realized, carefully sniffing the air. There were two of them. She turned slowly to see the silhouette of a man at the far end of the alley, his gun pointed straight at her as well.

"Shit," she cursed, biting her lip in frustration.

"Come quietly, Natsuki, we do not want to hurt you," said the closer man.

"But we will," warned his partner.

The gun was warm in her hand, but it did not feel as natural as her element. Natsuki didn't know if she could manage to shoot them both before they could retaliate.

"Drop your weapon!" called the man farther away. Natsuki realized he was a little more trigger-happy than his partner. _It doesn't matter if you_ can _,_ Natsuki realized. _You have to._

Natsuki shot at the man at the end of the alley, catching him in the thigh. He fell to the ground and she turned to the other man. He looked frightened of her, more than angry, and his trembling hand caused his gun to shake.

 _He'll shoot you out of fear,_ Natsuki realized, and because of her close range, was able to shoot him in his dominant arm. Not enough to kill him, but enough to keep him from shooting. The blood from her close target sprayed Natsuki, and she kicked up her kickstand and started her bike as she climbed over it.

As she sped out of the alley, the first man she shot began shooting back at her. One bullet whizzed over her left ear. She turned a corner at the first opportunity and sped back to the Academy.


	10. Chapter 10: Heavy Hearts

**A/N: Hi everyone! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, especially Nat, Entropy Empathy (for all your poetic words), and all the guest reviewers. It means a lot to know people are enjoying the story. I know this story is taking a little while to get moving, but there's a lot of things in play now that should start to come tumbling down soon. Thanks for sticking with it!**

Chapter 10: Heavy Hearts

The rain was pouring over the Fuuka Academy grounds, and the Himes were gathered in one of the high school classrooms, though school had long since ended for the day. The sun had set, and Mai could tell that everyone was on edge, both because of the strange occurrences and because of the eerie and foreboding weather.

Mai cleared her throat, directing the Hime's attention back to the front of the classroom, where Midori was avidly drawing charts and figures to explain the situation. Shiho, who had been looking away in stubbornness gave Mai a dirty look, but glanced over to see what was being written. Shizuru, whose eyes were focused out the windows and onto the paths around the campus, spared Mai a glance before turning back to her vigil.

Mai and Midori had succeeded in rounding up all the Hime except for Natsuki. Mai had even managed to drag Nao out of some karaoke bar and back to the school., leaving behind a kindly-looking boy.

"I thought she had changed," said Midori. "She still ditched class, but seemed to be cooperating before." Mai had just shrugged. She, too, thought that it was odd that Natsuki was missing, but the girl always took care of herself.

Shizuru did not feel the same. She wanted to go out to look for her friend, but Midori and Fumi convinced her to wait until the meeting was over. "Besides," reasoned Midori, "You have no element, and a bum arm." Shizuru, whose shoulder was still wrapped in bandages, gave Midori a scathing look, but complied.

So, with one notable exception, the Fuuka Hime had all been gathered, though they were not all fond of one another. Midori explained all they had found out, including the boundaries of the Fuuka Field, as she had termed it, the 'pocket dimension' of the disappearances, and the nanoparticles providing substrate for the Hime's elements and Childs to manifest.

Mai instinctively glanced at Mikoto, who was sitting beside Yukino. Although some of the unfamiliar concepts would be hard for Mikoto to grasp, Yukino was doing her best to quietly explain what was going on in terms Mikoto could understand. Mai caught Shiho listening in as well.

Mai realized that Midori was not going to mention the Fujino Corp.'s strange connection to the SOAR plans, and felt a squirming in he gut about hiding this information from the others. Midori's ponytail bobbed as she drew an enlarged picture of one of the nanoparticles. "Basically, these rearrange themselved into our elements and-"

Midori's explanation was interrupted by the classroom door opening to reveal Natsuki, splattered with blood and soaked from the rain. "Got your text," she said to Mai. "Sorry I'm late."

* * *

Shizuru's eyes widened as she watched Natsuki walk under the classroom lights. As she came out of shadow, Shizuru noticed that she appeared to be uninjured, but quite shaken. Instinctively, she wanted to walk over to her friend, ensure she was truly unharmed, and find out who did this to her, but she remained seated. Shizuru was hyper aware of the tension between the Hime, as well as how some of the girls still saw her as 'deranged' or 'violent'. She did not wish to involve Natsuki in this, and so she remained where she was.

Shizuru watched as Mai and Midori looked over Natsuki, and noticed Natsuki deflecting their prodding.

Surprisingly, Shiho stood up then. "Well then, what happened to you?" she asked. She looked nervous to be speaking to the girl who was probably her most intimidating senpai, but her fear over what was happening seemed to have overshadowed her apprehension.

Natsuki looked abrasively in her direction, but Shiho stood her ground. "Did- did it have to do with this?" she asked, her voice breaking.

Natsuki bit her lip, thinking. Despite her rain-soaked appearance, or maybe because of it, Shizuru thought Natsuki looked cute. "I don't know," said Natsuki, her voice husky. She turned so she was addressing all of the Hime. "Two men tried to apprehend me. They didn't say why. I shot first and got away."

Fumi handed Natsuki her sweater, which she slipped on, looking entirely out of character in the pink wool. She moved from the front of the room to take a seat. Surprisingly, she sat right beside Shizuru. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her hands together to warm them.

"What did I miss?" she asked Shizuru.

Shizuru got Natsuki up to speed, and Natsuki turned to pay attention to Midori. Shizuru glanced out the window again. The rain had finally stopped, but the clouds remained, blocking out the light from the sky. At that moment, it was incredibly believable that they were trapped in a Fuuka island-shaped dome.

She turned her head to Natsuki. It was safe to stare now that Natsuki's attention was on Mai and Midori. Natsuki had new guns, that was clear. She also had something strapped to her calf - Shizuru could see the outline under her rain-soaked pants. Natsuki's face was serious with focus, the dried blood standing out in stark contrast to her skin, in the same way her green eyes did.

Natsuk relaxed back in her seat until she was mere inches from Shizuru, her long hair dangling onto Shizuru's shoulder. "Are you feeling better?" she whispered. As she turned, her hair tickled the exposed skin it was dragged across. Shizuru couldn't help but smile.

"Ara, nearly all better," she said.

"Excuse me, Midori," said someone from the back, and Shizuru recognized the voice as Yukariko's. Sister had been quiet the whole evening, and Shizuru had not been able to gauge her feelings on the situation. "I was just wondering if you had any ideas about whether there was someone behind this, acting intentionally. It seems like this is not a bizarre phenomenon that is naturally occurring."

"You mean it isn't the hand of God?" asked Nao with a sneer. Natsuki laughed a little. Yukariko ignored them.

"Well…" said Midori, trailing off. Shizuru watched as Mai shot daggers at her with her eyes.

"Now you've done it," Nao mumbled toward Mai, her voice low enough that only Shizuru and Natsuki could hear her. "With a glare like that we know you're hiding something."

Midori seemed to feel the same pressure. "Well, I haven't been able to confirm anything yet. However, there was some indications that Iwasaka Pharmaceuticals and Fujino Corporation are involved, or at least they were at some point.

Shizuru was startled as seemingly all of the eyes in the room were on her at once. Only Natsuki remained partially turned away, and Shizuru could see her seething with anger at the mention of Iwasaka, the company synonymous with the First District.

"Shizuru, do you know anything about this?" asked Fumi, concern spreading across her brow.

"I have never heard of any of this. And Fujino is not a company that deals in anything like this. While it is a broad firm, it mostly focuses on newspapers, broadcasting, and lately, some energy industries. There is nothing experimental like that at all."

"Shizuru," said Yukino, her voice quiet, "There was a seal from the director on one of the documents we found…"

Shizuru was silent. She did not know enough about the corporation to refute this claim, though she was shocked that her family name would even emerge in a discussion of this nature. She tried to think of the best way to respond, or what her father would do in a press conference facing similar insinuations.

"Shizuru doesn't know anything about this," said Natsuki, standing. She seemed to block Shizuru from the rest of the room with her words and her positioning, and her gruff voice convinced the others not to press the issue further. Whether they believed her or not was still to be seen.

"Well, what we know about Iwasaka is…" continued Mai, and the discussion turned away from Shizuru.

Shizuru gently grabbed the back of Natsuki's arm, relieved when Natsuki did not flinch under her touch. Natsuki turned to look at her. Shizuru gave her an intentional look as if to say _do not put yourself in this position. Stay on their side, it is safer._

Natsuki gave Shizuru and understanding look, but her mouth turned up in a cute smirk. "I've got your back," was all she said.


	11. Chapter 11: Things Will Move

Chapter 11: Things Will Move

Akane stepped off the bus, knees shaking. Only Kazuya's presence behind her steadied her somewhat, but the idea of putting him in danger scared her all over again. She glanced at the notes in her hand, and turned to the left. "I guess it's this way," she said. Kazuya followed her, his hand slipping into hers as they walked side by side in silence.

"I'm sorry to drag you along-"

"Please, Akane, you know you don't have to apologize. I'm glad you're not hiding anything from me." Akane smiled at Kazuya's reassuring words.

"I… I can't go back to Fuuka, but if I can help by doing something like this, then I must. Mai… Midori… everyone is in danger."

The sky was overcast but rain was not falling. They walked along a riverbank for some time, then turned to walk across a large open field. "Nao said then we need to approach from this forested area," she said, pointing ahead, "because they have security cameras along the perimeter."

Kazuya took the lead, and they creeped through a dense stand of trees. Akane almost screamed as she discovered a spider crawling along her shirt, but Kazuya stifled the noise and flicked the insect away. With a finger before his lips indicating that she should stay silent, he pointed into the distance.

What looked to be an aircraft hangar was plopped in the middle of a large paved area. Waves of heat were hovering near the ground. There seemed to be no vehicles or people in site. Attached to the hangar was a large building that resembled a corporate office. "That must be it," Akane whispered, reaching for her phone.

Kazuya nodded, indicating that he would keep watch while she made contact. Fingers trembling, Akane dialed Nao's number into her phone.

"Good timing," said Nao in a tone that made Akane wonder if it really was good timing or not.

"Ah, well, I think I've found it," she said.

"Everyone, I know you think I do nothing, but I've been busy too. I think I've found their headquarters." Nao sounded like she was bragging to a room full of people.

"Ah, Nao, who is there?"

"All the Hime besides you and Akira."

Kazuya pushed Akane into a crouching position and they watched as a small airplane landed on a strip before the hangar.

"Ah, it looks like someone's just arrived," said Akane, her voice shaking. "In a plane."

Akane listened to Nao explaining where she was to the others. She watched the plane taxi and heard a distant rumble of thunder.

"Who's in the plane? Can you describe them?" asked Nao. "Midori says she and Yukino can research the descriptions you give."

"Hold on, the door is just opening now," she said. As the plane door opened, a small door on the hangar opened and a man in a suit walked out to greet the newcomers. Another man stepped out of the plane and they shook hands. "It appears to be a foreign man in a suit. He's shaking hands with a man from the facility, and they're both in black suits. And… someone else is coming out n-"

Akane had to clasp a hand to her mouth to keep herself from calling out.

"What? What is it?!" asked Nao, sensing that something had happened.

"Nao, what did she say?" Akane heard another voice ask quietly.

"It's… it's Akira… and Takumi… they've just stepped off the plane."

"Shit."

* * *

Midori sighed as she packed up her notes and other documents. Mai had stayed back to help erase the board, and Natsuki, Nao and Shizuru stayed back as well.

"Let's have some tea and snacks," proposed Mai. "Everyone can come back to my room, and I'll make the food. I'll let Shizuru brew the tea. Natsuki, you can take a bath and change." She nodded as if she was agreeing with herself, and Midori cracked a smile at Mai's motherly tendencies.

They did as they were told, and followed Mai back to the dormitories, Nao a tad reluctantly. Midori wasn't going to let Nao escape, though, not after she dropped the bomb of being in touch with Akane and accidentally finding Takumi and Akira.

Midori watched Mai's head bobbing in laughter as she chatted with Natsuki. She seemed to be holding up well, reassured some by the fact that Akira was with Takumi, and that he appeared unharmed. Natsuki had made the quiet suggestion that it was likely Takumi needed to remain unharmed to get Akira, Mai and the others to do as the captors said, and Midori agreed. Natsuki could be unexpectedly shrewd at times.

"I need to meet with Yukino tomorrow," said Midori, to no one in particular.

"Do not forget you have class," said Shizuru, a polite smile etched on her face as always.

"Shizuru, I'm sorry it seemed as if we were accusing you tonight."

"It is true I have done some work for the corporation, but I truly know nothing of anything even vaguely related to this."

They walked up the steps into Mai's room, and Mikoto greeted them with an enthusiastic "MAI!" Midori's reply to Shizuru was cut off as everyone disappeared to cook or change. Mikoto plopped down on the rug, waiting for Mai to finish in the kitchen. Midori ended up sitting on the couch, poring again over her notes.

Nao sighed and flopped onto the couch beside Midori. "This is turning into a real pain in the ass," she said, leaning back and resting her eyes.

Midori laughed a little and relaxed as well. Feeling the stiffness in her shoulders and back, Midori realized this was probably the first time she had relaxed since everything began.

Shizuru and Mai returned shortly after, delivering trays of cookies, fruit, and tea. Natsuki appeared again a moment later, looking distinctly out of character in clothes she borrowed from Mai. She hungrily dug into the snacks, and the others followed suit.

"Ara, there is something I think I should explain," said Shizuru, placing her teacup down carefully and sitting up straighter.

"My father suffered a stroke about three months ago. He is doing better now, with extensive therapy, but it has caused him to miss many days of work. He had appointed two men to take his place, and while I have met them and they seem trustworthy, I do not know them well enough to know if they've done anything… well… differently."

Midori saw Natsuki place a reassuring hand on Shizuru's shoulder.

"Well, we've got a lot of new information to sort through," said Midori, clearing her throat slightly. _You are the sensei,_ she thought, _you need to take charge and keep everyone calm._

"We do," said Mai. Mikoto snuggled closer to Mai, who looked exhausted. "It may be selfish of me to ask this, but I would like saving Takumi to be a priority. He needs medical attention and… well, he's my brother."

Midori nodded in agreement. "Nao, please keep in touch with Akane. Since we currently can't leave Fuuka, we need her and other allies outside Fuuka to help us out."

"You know," said Nao, "Anyone here who isn't a Hime can leave Fuuka. I tested that the other day."

The others muttered in surprise at this discovery. Midori had expected that to be the case, but had not confirmed it. "Please report things like that at once!" she said.

"I'd forgotten about it, honestly," said Nao.

"There are plenty of people who would be willing to help us. Yuuichi, Chie, Aoi, Haruka, Takeda… we should reach out to our friends," said Mai. She looked reinvigorated with a new sense of purpose and a plan.

"I will investigate whether or not anything suspicious has been happening at Fujino Corp. in my father's absence," said Shizuru.

"I'm going to find out who those agents were and why they were trying to apprehend me," said Natsuki. "Something tells me they have information we'd like to know."

Shizuru looked at her friend with concern, but did not comment. Midori also felt that interacting with people such at Natsuki described was dangerous, but she knew Natsuki would not be dissuaded. "Please do not go alone," she said.

Satisfied with the late-night snacks and a new plan, the guests left Mai's and wandered home. Midori turned down a different path than the others and walked slowly, trying to digest everything that had happened.

 _Akira and Takumi are likely being held captive. Akane found them. Nao found that anyone but the Hime can leave Fuuka Island. Some agents tried to capture Natsuki. Fujino Corp. may be involved in this. There are Orphan-like creatures with amplified abilities within that closed space…_ It was overwhelming.

Natsuki hadn't bothered showing up to class for the past week, and for once, Midori couldn't blame her. Getting up to teach the next morning no longer seemed like a priority. Perhaps she should talk to Fumi-san about having a substitute come in so she could have more time to do research… but of course Yoko wouldn't approve of her obsessive behavior… but it was for everyone's safety… she couldn't get her head on straight.

Midori stiffened as she heard a rustling from the bushes beside the path. Instinctively she turned towards the noise, but couldn't see anything in the inky blackness of the foliage. Adrenaline was pumping through her now, and she called for her Child.

Of course, Gakuten-O couldn't manifest, and neither could her labrys. She felt goosebumps appear on her flesh and she realized how exposed she was. There was a bang and Midori could feel herself collapsing.

* * *

Akira laid back on the bed, the mattress hard and uncomfortable. She still felt nauseous from the long flight she had disembarked from that afternoon. She knew that Takumi was in the cell-like room beside her's, and that was reassuring, but she still felt uneasy. She didn't have a good feeling about anything lately.

Sadly, she wondered if the housemother at the dormitories was worried about her. Would her friends at the International School miss her? Did Mai know Takumi was gone? Most disconcerting of all was that for all the days spent with the strange men and women in suits, she still only had a vague idea of everything that was happening.

' _Things have to move soon.'_ That was what the American man had said on his cell phone. As far as Akira could tell, things were already moving, and much too quickly. She longed to be with Takumi at this moment, to gain some comfort from his presence and reassuring words. She also longed to be back at Fuuka, where at least she could fight alongside the others. She longed to be out of this facility, where she could be of use to someone besides these villians….

 _That was it,_ she realized. _Things will move soon._ I need to get out of here.


	12. Chapter 12: When It Rains

Chapter 12: When It Rains...

Mai awoke, disoriented and groggy. Thunder clapped outside and the wind screeched through the nearby trees. A bolt of lightning illuminated the room, and Mai gasped as she saw that she was inches away from a set of glowing eyes. Stifling her cry so she would not disturb the others, Mai strained her eyes in the darkness to make out Mikoto's face.

"Mai," she said, her voice quiet. "I'm afraid."

Mai nodded, and knew that her friend's fear went beyond the raging rainstorm. She could feel it too. Things were not going to get better - they were going to get worse.

"Mikoto, you can sleep beside me," whispered another voice, and Mai could make out the silhouette of Yukino's short hair. Mikoto eagerly slipped into the futon beside her.

"I'm going for water," said Mai, excusing herself. Fumi had suggested the Hime all spend the nights together, and volunteered her home for this purpose. It made sense, Mai agreed, especially if they 'disappeared' during the night. She took a room with Mikoto to preserve a sense of normalcy, and accepted Yukino when Mikoto insisted. She walked down the hall, passing the room that Shiho and Nao shared.

Mai tried her best to silently walk down the stairs, but the old wood was creaky. Mai bolted down the remaining stairs during a long rumble of thunder - hoping the sound would cover her descent. It was just for show, she knew. Almost none of them were able to sleep through the night anymore.

Mai was surprised to find a candle lit on the kitchen counter. It took her a minute to notice someone sitting on the window ledge, gazing out towards the Academy. The girl looked so relaxed for once, Mai almost didn't want to disturb her. The sound of the faucet snapped her from her reverie of course.

Natsuki's shoulders stiffened, and she reached down under the pant-leg of her pajamas as she turned around, presumably to access a weapon. "Mai, I'm sorry, you startled me. I must have been drifting off."

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you."

Ther exchanges lately had been like that. Mai wondered if they were growing distant again. This jumpy and mysterious Natsuki was similar to the one Mai first met, not the girl who helped end the Carnival.

"I was watching for those mysterious men I encountered," she explained. "Or, well, Nao or Midori."

Mai was silent for a moment, easing her parched throat with some cool water. Too cold, she realized, shivering. She walked over and sat beside Natsuki, forcing the girl into a more friendly situation. With a rather jerky movement, Natsuki handed a blanket to Mai. For a few seconds they simply watched the rain pour outside of the headmistress's mansion.

"I haven't been able to contact either of them," said Mai. "I mean, Nao always goes off on her own, and Midori secludes herself to do research, but neither of them are off the grid for this long."

"Shizuru said even Yoko hasn't heard from Midori in a few days," said Natsuki, confirming a fear that Mai hadn't even allowed to materialize.

"I have a feeling something bad has happened."

Natsuki turned up the corners of her lips in a sardonic grin. "I knew you were a little slow on the uptake, but this is truly surpassing yourself, Tokiha."

Mai allowed herself to laugh a little as well. "I suppose that was a bit of an understatement."

"I agree, though," said Natsuki, once again serious. "Nao has been helping us lately. I mean, she got in touch with Akane, she found that base and Akira and Takumi, and she even confirmed that other people could leave the boundaries. Perhaps…"

"Perhaps the people in control perceived her as a threat." The two girls looked up at the newcomer, who was clad in a long bathrobe.

"Shizuru," said Natsuki, and Mai thought the word had a sort of private intimacy as it rolled off her tongue.

"I also could not get to sleep. I think I'll make a cup of tea."

"Me too, please," said Natsuki, and Mai nodded in agreement. Shizuru set to work and continued, "Midori also seemed to have been figuring out their plan rather rapidly. It could be that they wanted to take out the shrewdest of us."

"I can be shrewd," said Natsuki, rather quietly.

Mai had to giggle again. "I think Yukino would be next in line, honestly."

"I was only joking. Besides, I've been thinking about my situation."

Mai watched Shizuru's hands quiver almost imperceptibly as she measured out the tea.

"I can't use my powers in this closed space. I mean, _everyone else_ can use them, despite whatever regrets and trauma they suffered in the Carnival. Which makes me think - I don't think it's a mental block or something. I don't think I can do anything that will allow me to get them back. I think they were _taken_ from me."

Shizuru poured the tea without giving away her reaction. "Ahh are you certain?" asked Mai.

Natsuki shook her head. "Of course not, there's no way to prove it. And yet - I feel that this is the correct answer."

* * *

"Yuuto!" Nao cried, but it was in vain. She could not warn him, she could not protect him, _she could not protect him._ She watched herself, expressionless and robotic, hovering over his body, an expanding pool of blood at their feet.

 _How had this happened?_

 _How had she allowed this to happen?_

Things had been bad, certainly, but she had still found joy in her life. She wouldn't have minded if she had to fight overpowered Orphans every once in awhile when she could return to her everyday school life after. But now, things had irrevocably changed. The stakes had been raised and raised and raised so high she couldn't see over them.

She fell to her knees, and her legs were soaked with his blood, melded with the rivulets of rainwater already rushing down the road.

She had tried to remain cool and detached. Nao wasn't one to fall for boys. Rather, boys feel for her, and she abused that. And somehow, Yuuto had been an exception to the rule. Sure, he had wanted to please her, but he wasn't like a puppy that just followed her around. They had conversations, they had gotten to know one another.

Nao let out an unnatural laugh as she stared at the _weapon._ That intimacy was her downfall, surely. Getting close to anyone only ends in ruin, it seems.

Yuuto had begun to notice the strange happenings in Fuuka. He was active on Yukino's forum, and also acquaintances with Takeda through kendo. Nao, trusting him, explained what she could about the 'closed space' and the 'Hime'. Of course, this required an abridged recounting of the original Orphan battles and the Carnival. Since, as far as she could tell, they were no longer fighting with a 'precious person' at stake, she didn't see the danger.

Now, of course, it was laying before her, in the form of a corpse.

They had been investigating. Insisting he help, Yuuto had helped Nao find the base that Akane went to. He walked the perimeter of the 'dome' over the course of a weekend, looking for any clues, since Nao couldn't get close. Even know, they had been-"

Oh, what did it matter? "What does it matter anymore?" asked Nao. She knew the only one listening wouldn't respond. "You've won, certainly! Of course, I don't believe in _progress for the sake of progress_!"

Knowing her words were esoteric and unable to reach anyone, she bowed her head. She was surprised to find tears pouring off her face and melding with the rain. She wasn't surprised she was crying of course, she knew she wasn't steel-hearted enough not to love, but she was surprised she hadn't noticed until this moment.

It was that much worse that the murderer wore her face. Well, not just her face, she was honestly Nao's clone. That was what had made them stop in the first place. "That girl…" Yuuto had said, pointing. Nao tipped back the umbrella they were sharing to get a better look. The clone turned to them and smiled a mischievous smile that was one of Nao's trademark expressions.

"It's uncanny…" she said, unconsciously reaching for his hand.

The girl moved towards them, unaffected by the pouring rain crashing down and soaking her hair and uniform. Nao wanted to step back. She didn't know why, but she understood this girl had cruel intentions. This had to be the most bizarre thing they had encountered so far since the strange incidents began.

Frozen in place, the pair had watched as the Nao-clone moved towards them. Without uttering a word, she transformed her arm into a sort of blade, and thrust it through Yuuto's chest. She stepped back, pulling out the blade, and returned her arm to normal, staring at them.

Nao dared to glance at his body now, his blood being washed away by the rain. Although they were on a fairly busy road, there were no spectators. The three of them were alone. Nao remembered something from before, something that matched with this clone's attributes. "Miyu," she said, tasting the name.

"That is not Miyu," said a man's voice from behind her. Nao turned her head just enough to see him. He was wearing a trench coat and held a black umbrella. A suspicious character, definitely.

"It's something like her," spat Nao, turning back to Yuuto's lifeless body.

The man laughed; a terrible sound which made Nao shiver. "Don't you see? I mean, it's obvious. That can't be Miyu, that's Nao." As he said those words, the robotic face disappeared into a perfect imitation of Nao's. She changed her posture to look like Nao's, her whole bearing and aura was correct.

"Isn't it fantastic? It took quite a lot of work! And modeled after you, you should be honored!"

Nao felt a strange stirring inside her. Suddenly, she felt the need to oppose this new enemy. She discovered she hadn't completely lost her will to fight. "She's nothing like me," she spat.

"Ahh, but that's not for you to decide. In any case, we can't have two Yuuki-san's running around, that would certainly be confusing. For now, let's remove you from the game."

Shot in the back, Nao was unable to move. The clone, the false-Nao, walked away towards the Academy with Nao's stride. Nao grunted; it was besmirching.

* * *

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm sorry it took me a little longer to update this chapter. I think I'm going to advance the rating to M, just in case, since it could get fairly violent. Anyways, thanks for reading this far, and if you feel inclined, please leave a review :)


	13. Chapter 13: Comfort in Familiarity

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back, though updates will probably be sporadic. It's the busy season at my job, and I've been working on a few cosplays. Anyways, here's an update :)

Chapter 13: Comfort In Familiarity

Natsuki leaned against a wall, sweat dripping from her face. She tried to catch her breath and release a stitch that had formed in her side. She didn't dare call out to the others for fear of alerting the large beast they were currently engaged in. The creature somewhat resembled a robotic rhinoceros, but it was scaled-up greatly and had the ability to shoot deadly lasers.

Natsuki had to laugh a little in disbelief at the situation she was currently in. In a pocket dimension, fighting a mecha-rhino, with friends who have superpowers. She sidled along the edge of the wall, turning the corner at the last second, guns raised.

She watched Kagutsuchi and Mai engage the Orphan from above, and Nao tying up its legs with her webs. Shizuru was also busy, Kiyohime rivaling Kagutsuchi in battle power. Natsuki, Fumi, and Mikoto were assigned to stay back and move in once the original three were tired, and Shiho, Sister, and Yukino were the last reserves. Natsuki clenched her jaw as she thought about Midori's continued absence.

A stray laser got past the main three's defenses and grazed Natsuki's shoulder, punishing her for her daydreaming. She flinched in pain but did not call out. She glanced down, ready to see a gushing of blood, but there was barely any. The heat of the laser had cauterized the wound. "Gross," she said.

Natsuki shot at the Orphan's head, trying to catch it in the eye, but its actions were so swift that this was proving impossible. _I need to get closer,_ she thought. She moved forward quickly, ducking underneath the cover of hedges and trees that lined the Academy's walkways. She bumped into something and fell back in surprise.

Cursing her clumsiness, she looked up to see what had stopped her so abruptly, but there didn't seem to be anything there. Then, from nothing, there were words written in the air before her. Looking closely, Natsuki could see that some sort of screen had appeared midair in the woods in the midst of the battle. It was about four feet on each side, and floating. Natsuki felt like she was in some sort of computer game.

NATSUKI. BE ON GUARD, the words said. "What the hell?" she said aloud.

DO NOT SPEAK. THEY'LL REALIZE WHAT I DID. Obeying the mysterious words, Natsuki pretended to fiddle with her guns. She had an inkling about who was behind this.

I'VE FIGURED IT OUT. MOSTLY. STAY ALIVE AND WHEN YOU'RE HOME, PURSUE YUUTA. The words disappeared after a few seconds, and Natsuki sighed in disappointment. However, the holographic screen lit up just once more and displayed two words, which Natsuki burned into her memory for future processing:

BOUNDARY. CIRCUIT.

Natsuki heard a distant scream and turned back to the action, but before she could make any progress, she realized she was back in the 'true' Fuuka. Her body seemed to be getting used to these changes now, since she barely felt the disorientation anymore.

Although they were back, Natsuki was still concerned about the scream she had heard, and rushed to where she last saw the others. Mikoto was propped up on her elbows on the ground, a look of fear plastered to her face. Mai was huddled over her, and Natsuki realized it must have been Mai who she heard.

Shizuru approached Natsuki, and Natsuki could smell burnt hair and see the singes on her friend's pale skin. _If only I were better in combat. If only I had Duran,_ she cursed for the thousandth time.

"They must be observing us," Shizuru said.

"Who?"

"Whoever is in charge," Shizuru said, her voice low.

"Why do you think so?" Natsuki asked, her eyes surveying Shizuru for injuries.

"Because, that Orphan was a millisecond away from murdering Mikoto, and suddenly everything is reset. Something similar happened before, too."

"Shizuru, something strange happened just now…"

"Ah?"

Natsuki watched Shizuru's intense gaze, currently fixed on the cut on Natsuki's shoulder. "I think I 'talked' to Midori?"

* * *

Midori sat in the interrogation room, both afraid and invigorated. She could hear the steady hum of the servers behind her, and realized that she had been taken right into the heart of this mess. This was where all of the answers were contained. And most importantly, she was outside of the boundary. The powers that be seemed to have made a fatal error.

It had now been a week since she awoke at this facility, which the scientists seemed to refer to as "SOAR HQ". She had been brought to the interrogation room several times, to the board room once, where she was able to see Takumi and Akira, and to the room where she slept whenever they had no use for her. She could tell, however, that this was a sprawling facility.

Thanks to the senseless chatter of workers, Midori was to confirm where she was within thirty seconds of coming to. She had a general sense of the layout of the facility within a couple hours, and she figured out who the important figures were within a couple days. On the sixth day, she was even able to commandeer a terminal for some time and contact Natsuki in the closed space.

She ate the room-temperature stew that had been passed through the door to her, and went over all the answers she had found. Takumi was here to get Akira to cooperate. Akira was here to act as a resource regarding Hime, elements, childs, Orphans, and Fuuka. More recently, the interrogators had been looking for information on each Hime's personality, temperament, and relationships. Midori had been brought to this facility both to remove her from Fuuka, and to act as another resource. Unfortunately for the powers-that-be at SOAR, Midori had no intentions of selling out her friends. She was, however, a decent liar.

Midori heard a strange noise coming from the other side of the wall. There was a clang of metal, some sort of scraping noises. "Hey!" she called out. Even without waiting for a response, she knew her voice wasn't getting to anyone. The concrete walls were thick. The noises shifted to the ceiling, and Midori heard a rustling over some sort of HVAC vent installed in the ceiling. She used the end of her spoon to loosen the screws.

When three screws were removed, the vent cracked open, and a large cloud of dust fell in Midori's face. After she coughed several times and the air cleared, she looked into the space again to see a small, crumpled piece of paper. Beside it was the end of a long wire. Midori pulled on the wire to discover it was three wire coat hangers, twisted together. Her neighbor, who was somewhat distant, judging by the length of the wire, was nothing if not inventive. She replaced the coat hangers and one of the screws so the vent sat flush, and opened the note.

The note was not written by Akira, as she had expected, but rather by Takumi. He didn't sign it, but Midori was sure it was the handwriting of a young boy, and the contents of the note made the writer clear.

 _M - I have a plan. Please correspond if you have received this message. A is in a bind, but I am more flexible. In fact, I'm feeling a little_ ill.

Midori smiled to herself. Excellent. She wouldn't have to do this all alone.

* * *

Mai walked to the cafeteria, following behind Yukino and Mikoto, who were busy discussing the best way to eat noodles. Someone tugged on her sleeve, and Mai turned around, nealy gasping from surprise. Shiho stood behind her, a determined expression set on her face. "I need to talk to you," she said.

"Oh. Alright. Sure," said Mai. She excused herself to Mikoto and Yukino, and Shiho led her to the flower gardens near the headmistress's house. Sitting on a bench, Shiho looked suspiciously around, as if trying to ensure that they were alone.

Mai, unsure of what to do, sat on the bench beside Shiho. "I need to talk to you, because you're the only one who will take me seriously," said Shiho. "Well, Natsuki might, but she's always off somewhere."

"What's going on?" asked Mai.

"Well… it's about Nao." Shiho looked around once more. "I think something's going on with her. She's not… herself. She's always got the same… expression, but something's off in her eyes. And well, she had been hanging around with this guy in our class, and he's been absent for the past three days."

Mai wasn't sure what to make of this. Certainly it was strange, and Shiho was obviously very bothered by what was going on, but there wasn't much to go on. "So, to recap, Nao's eyes are strange and her friend hasn't been coming to school?"

Shiho looked at Mai in exasperation. "Onii doesn't believe me either. But something's weird. Last night at sundown, she was walking behind the house, and just pacing around, doing nothing. And she goes at night still, like she always has, but she doesn't wear clothes and makeup like she's going out to party.

Mai had forgotten that Shiho and Nao were both in middle school. "Shiho, have you talked to Mikoto about this?"

"She's not in our class, but I think she thinks something is strange. She doesn't like to be in the same room as Nao anymore."

"Uh huh. Shiho, it's not that I don't believe you. Everything is strange right now. I just don't know what to make of it, or what to do about it. I'll talk to Natsuki and keep an eye out as well."

Shiho nodded, appearing satisfied that she was taken seriously. Mai realized with mild horror that herself, Natsuki, and Shizuru were probably seen as 'the older girls' by Shiho, Mikoto, and even Yukino. They weren't adults, like Fumi or Midori or Sister, but they did have some extra experience. The thought filled Mai with a strange combination of pride and responsibility.

After class, Mai returned to the headmistress's house. It was slowly becoming normal to stay there as a Hime base. She saw Natsuki pull into the drive on her motorcycle- she didn't even try to hide it these days, and nobody stopped her. "Hey," Mai said, intercepting Natsuki on her way inside. "Shiho talked to me earlier, she thinks something's up with Nao. I told her we would keep an eye out."

"Something might be up with her, but something is definitely up with her boyfriend," Natsuki said, her voice a low growl. "I just spent the whole goddamned afternoon searching for him. He's gone, disappeared off the face of Fuuka."

Mai felt a familiar sense of foreboding fill her chest. "How did you hear he was missing?" she asked.

"Takeda told me. I guess the kid used to be manager of the kendo club, and just stopped showing up the other day. He hadn't been in school at all. His parents don't live in Fuuka- he dorms- but they have any idea where he is."

Natsuki straightened up abruptly, and Mai instinctively turned around to see what had startled her. Standing in the entryway, staring expressionlessly at them was Nao. "Excuse me," she said, and pushed past them to leave.


	14. Chapter 14: Turning the Tide

Chapter 14: Turning the Tide

Nao grunted as she awoke to the sound of the tiny dog door in her prison being opened to deliver another meal that she would ignore. Her cell-like room did not have a window or clock, so she had no idea what time of day it was or how long she had been there. There had been chili, then eggs, then stew, then porridge, then this meatloaf-like slop, but she was certain she was missing a few meals in between. The room contained a small cot, a toilet and sink, a small writing desk and chair, and a bookshelf with three books, a mug, and an extra blanket.

Nao had not done much since arriving. Yuuta was dead - that was bad enough, but she had been kidnapped by a strange agency, and there was an false Nao running around, pretending to be her. Perhaps she wouldn't be so depressed if she had a plan of action, a goal to work towards, but all of her pondering had yet to reveal any way she could help her situation.

Mostly, she slept. The first few nights she had nightmares of Yuuta's murder, of his blood running down the street carried by the rain, and of that robot girl transforming into her. Sometimes in the nightmares Nao was killed too, and she woke up sweating. The first few times she tried to sleep it was difficult, but she was improving. In fact, she probably spent more time asleep than awake now.

There was no windows, no knob or visible lock or hinges on the door. Nothing in the room was a viable weapon, and besides, they only opened the small door, never the actual door. Once, she broke the mug, cut herself with a shard, and left blood on the plate, in hopes that someone would come to check on her and she could rush them, but either no one noticed, or no one cared. It was then that Nao thought that perhaps if she died here, it wouldn't particularly matter. That was when she began to become truly frightened, and began to fear the door opening.

That was the reason why, ten minutes after the meal was delivered, Nao sat on her cot, paralyzed with fear as she heard the lock turn on the other side of her door. She reached for something, anything, and her hand locked around the large chunk of the broken mug. She would have half a second, perhaps, to throw it, and she needed her throw to hit. The lock clicked open, and the door opened slowly. There were multiple voices, whispering to each other. _Just let me set eyes on the leader…_ she told herself, steeling herself to attack. The door opened wider, and Nao paused, the ceramic shard forgotten in her raised hand as her gaze settled on Midori.

Nao looked at Midori, Akira, and Takumi in confusion as they made the same expression towards her. "You're… _here_ …" said Akira quietly.

"But we saw you today at Fuuka on the projector," added Takumi.

"That wasn't me. It was an android, like Miyu."

"No time to talk," said Midori. "We can debrief once we're out of here." She handed Nao a steel pipe. "It's not a traditional weapon, but it'll have to do."

They padded through what seemed like an endless maze of hallways. Midori assured them that she had hacked the security cameras to play the same thirty minute loop of nothing happening to avoid detection. Finally, they emerged in an aircraft hanger. "What now?" asked Nao.

"We need to get into the woods."

The four of them nodded, ready to proceed, and bolted across the moonlit runway, hopped the fence, and dashed into the woods. Takumi got hung up on the fence for a moment, but by some miracle, he managed to clear it a second later, and joined them in the foliage. Midori reached into her pocket and pulled out a handheld radio. She changed the frequency and fiddled with it as they continued to run deeper into the trees.

"Come in, A-1, come in!"

"M-1, I'm here, at the specified location," said a timid voice.

Midori led them another mile or so through the trees, and then they emerged behind a small train station. Akane emerged from a phone booth, and handed them each a ticket.

"Thanks," said Midori, mussing Akane's hair affectionately.

Kazuya emerged from inside the station. "It's arriving, get going!" he encouraged them.

"Thank you, both of you, really!" Midori said. The four escapees ran through the station onto the train, and waved at Akane and Kazuya as it pulled away. They looked out the window as the train took them away from the strange and nefarious research facility.

"How?" asked Nao, stunned.

"It was all those two," said Akira, smiling proudly. "Takumi faked an illness and was allowed to stay in the infirmary overnight, then he managed to get the keys from the night guard. He let Midori out, and she messed with the computer terminals and security cameras to allow us to get out. It was amazing."

"Thank you," Nao told them all, genuinely. "But, well, if you thought I was at Fuuka, then how did you know to come to my cell?"

"Well, we knew there was someone else held hostage from Fuuka. We thought it was this middle schooler Yuuta, who one of the men mentioned was missing," explained Midori.

Nao looked at her feet. "Yuuta isn't missing," she said, her voice low. "He's dead."

* * *

Natsuki was certain this Nao was an imposter. Natsuki was riding her motorcycle, speeding, no less, and Nao was still ahead of her, on foot. This 'Nao' was sprinting faster than any human should be able to move. They raced along the elevated road that hugged the cliff and looked over the ocean. One of the most beautiful roads in Fuuka City, and for Natsuki, one of the most tragic. It was a full moon tonight, Natsuki noticed.

Natsuki pulled out one of her revolvers and shot at the fake Nao. Her aim was true, and the bullet struck Nao in the back of the calf. She expected the girl to trip and fall, and she instinctively slowed down to avoid hitting her, but the girl kept running, and metallic clink resounding distinctly. _A robot! Android, maybe…_

Finally, the girl slowed, and Natsuki did as well, pulling into a small observation platform. She realized as she stepped off her bike that this was where Nao had held Natsuki captive, trying to torture her, all those months ago during Carnival.

Natsuki looked at the girl, who was truly identical to Nao. She had a million questions. "Why did you run?" she asked. _Why did you ask that?_ She chastised herself. _It doesn't matter why, there are so many more important questions._

"I wanted to talk to you, _alone,_ " said the fake Nao.

Natsuki continued to hold her revolver. Despite doing no damage to this… _thing,_ the cool metal gave her comfort. "Where is Nao?"

"I _am_ Nao," the girl said, a little pointedly.

"The real Nao!" Natsuki yelled. A large bus sped by the observation deck, throwing her a little off balance with the gust of wind it produced. The fake Nao's hair did not blow in the wind.

"Are you an android? Like Miyu Greer?" Natsuki asked. "Where is she? And where is Yuuta?! Why are you here?" Now that she was frustrated, the questions began spilling out.

"The boy is out of the picture, and I told you, I _am_ Nao. Also, quite frankly, I'm tired of answering questions. Now, I have a question for you, Natsuki." The android seemed to smile as she said this. "What is it you love most in this world?"

Natsuki was taken aback by this question. She felt the spray of a crashing wave. "What I love most in the world?" she repeated.

"Yes. Someone important to me wants to know. He says that Natsuki-san is an enigma. She does not care at all and yet she cares very much."

"If someone important to you wants to know, then I definitely do not want to say." Natsuki walked back to her bike. The fake Nao was behind her in a second, her arm transformed into some kind of sharp blade, which she held in front of Natsuki's neck.

"Not so fast," the android said. Natsuki fired the revolver at the android's foot, but again, the bullet ricocheted off with a _clink,_ and the fake Nao swatted the weapon from her hand.

Natsuki held her breath. Now, with the android this close, she could feel the immense strength of the synthetic body. It was like a vice. Unexpectedly, the android laughed. "Perhaps this is an impossible question?" she taunted. "Natsuki has people she talks to, but not friends. She has classes she goes to, but no ambitions. She has a desire for family, but none to speak of. Perhaps there is nothing you love in this world."

Natsuki cursed, trying to wedge herself away from this girl. The blade only pressed closer, until Natsuki was certain it would draw blood.

A car stopped at the observation deck, with Mai and Shizuru emerging from it. "Stay back!" Natsuki yelled. "This isn't Nao, she's an and-" Natsuki stopped talking as she felt a sharp pain in her neck. The blade had definitely cut her.

"Let her go." Shizuru's voice was cold and serious. It reminded Natsuki of the Carnival. Of a scene that had played out at this very location between herself, Nao, Shizuru, Julia, and Kiyohime. Duran was absent then, as well.

"Hmm, how interesting," the android teased, turning, but not releasing her hold on Natsuki. "Perhaps the question has been answered."

Natsuki considered lying, telling this Nao that she hated Shizuru, that she would never forgive her, but she couldn't bear to let Shizuru hear those words, even as a lie to protect her.

"I'm sorry," was all Natsuki said, in the end. The android released her and she fell to the ground, too disappointed in herself to continue to stand. She watched as drops of her blood rained down on the pavement before her, appearing black under the moonlight.

The fake Nao jumped over the railing and took off down the beach, but neither Shizuru nor Mai pursued her. "Natsuki!" called Mai, rushing forward with Shizuru.

Natsuki looked up at them, her face set. "We need to take her out before she hurts anyone," she told them.

"Alright, but let's go home for tonight," said Mai gently. "It won't do to charge after her like this."

Natsuki stood and Shizuru embraced her. "Don't go doing dangerous things like that by yourself!" she said, obviously hurt. "I was so frightened."

Natsuki surprised herself by hugging Shizuru back, and burying her face in Shizuru's jacket. "Ok," she agreed, quietly.


End file.
